UVALDE, Texas – Parents at Robb Elementary School are asking for answers from law enforcement, outraged that an 18-year-old gunman entered the building through an unlocked door and ran over. an hour, killing 19 children and two teachers.
Uvalde, a small town in rural Texas, is faltering days after facing the second deadliest school shooting in U.S. history, erecting memorials throughout the community and gathering in prayer. President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden will travel to Uvalde on Sunday to pay tribute to the victims.
The alleged gunman, identified by authorities as Salvador Ramos, 18, a student at Uvalde High School, bought two assault rifles a few days after turning 18 and used them to carry out the attack. , all within eight days, authorities said. Ramos is now dead.
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Before setting fire to the school, the suspect also allegedly shot his grandmother, authorities said.
The gunman entered the door unobstructed without closing
A response from school officials and law enforcement is becoming a key focus in the ongoing investigation into the shooting at the Uvalde school, law enforcement sources told ABC News on Thursday. .
Officials said that around 11:28 a.m., the suspect crashed into his grandmother’s car at the school perimeter, pulled out an AR-style rifle and a backpack full of ammunition, and fired at two witnesses nearby as he headed for school.
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Texas officials said Thursday that police did not confront the gunman before entering the school, although he had previously reported that a school district police officer had confronted the gunman. .
Police believe the gunman was able to enter the building through an open door at the back of the school, said Victor Escalon, regional director of the Texas Department of Public Safety for South Texas.
It is unclear whether any students and teachers heard an official call for a blockade once the gunman entered the building, sources said.
In addition, investigators are investigating whether local officials may have made other attempts to enter the school to end the gunman’s attack more quickly, sources said. Responding police clashed with gunmen and called for tactical equipment with the right equipment to enter the classroom and neutralize the gunman, according to sources.
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“They don’t come in initially because of the shots they’re getting,” said Victor Escalon, Texas Department of Homeland Security.
Parents ask why it took more than an hour to shoot down the shooter.
TIMETABLE: A Look At The Movements Of The Uvalde Shooter During The Day Of The Massacre
Survivors try to move forward
While authorities recommend the motive for the shooting, survivors are trying to move forward.
The monument grows for the 21 victims whose names are now engraved on white crosses outside the school.
SEE ALSO: Data shows that mass shootings in the US have almost tripled since 2013
Distressed families are taking on the difficult task of making arrangements for their loved ones.
The only two funeral homes in Uvalde offer free funeral services to the victims of the shooting.
Since 2013, the year after the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, mass shootings in the United States, described as shooting incidents in which at least four people are injured or killed, have almost triplicate. There have already been 213 mass shooting incidents in 2022: a 50% increase over the 141 shootings in May 2017 and a 150% increase over the 84 in May 2013. The graph above shows the number of shooting incidents by state. Mobile users: Click here to see our map of mass shootings in the US from Sandy Hook.
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