All of the fatalities and injuries took place inside a classroom at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, according to Lt. Chris Olivarez, a spokesman for the Texas Department of Public Safety.
The shooter barricaded himself in a room and killed two teachers and 19 children, he said.
“It will only show you the complete evil of this shooter,” Olivarez told John Berman and CNN’s Shimon Prokupecz.
While the shooting was taking place, officers were patrolling the school, breaking windows and trying to evacuate children and staff. They were then able to force their way into the classroom where the shooter was, he said.
All the victims have been removed, identified and their families informed, the lieutenant said. Several children were injured in the classroom, according to Olivarez, but there are no exact numbers at this time.
“It’s a small classroom, you can have between 25 and 30 students in there, plus there were two teachers … So you don’t have the exact number of students in that classroom, but it could vary … It was an environment classroom, a typical classroom environment where you have massive groups of kids inside that classroom all together, with nowhere to go, ”Olivarez said.
Olivarez said there was no chase with law enforcement before the shooter collided with a car near the school.
When asked if school was a goal, Olivarez said there are still “many unanswered questions.”
“We’re trying to figure it out, so we’re working with the FBI right now to look back to see if there were any flags, red flags, looking at social media. What we know about the shooter is that he’s resident here in Uvalde, he said. attending one of the local high schools, living with his grandparents, being unemployed, with no friends, no girlfriend we can identify at the moment, no criminal record, no gang membership. ” He said.
Olivarez said the shooter had a rifle in his possession when he entered the school, and authorities are working to determine what type of rifle and capability.
The shooter carried “a tactical vest without ballistic panels; so these types of carriers are usually used by tactical equipment, SWAT equipment, where they can place magazines, additional ammunition inside these carriers and be able to move in a tactical formation. “said Olivarez.
Olivarez said his grandmother, who was shot earlier by the shooter, is still alive and authorities are trying to locate her grandfather and relatives.
CNN’s Raja Razek contributed to this post.