UVALDE, Texas – The death toll in the shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, rose to 22, with at least 19 children, a teacher and a second school employee killed, according to the Department of Homeland Security Texas Public.
The 18-year-old suspect, a Uvalde High School student, has also died, Gov. Greg Abbott said.
Abbott said the suspect “shot and horribly and incomprehensibly killed” more than a dozen students and a teacher.
The incident began when the suspect, identified by Abbott and police sources such as Salvador Ramos, shot his grandmother. Initial law enforcement reports said the shooter’s grandmother was dead, but at 11 p.m., police sources told ABC News that the grandmother was in critical condition but still alive.
Texas public safety officials said Ramos left his home in a truck, which crashed into a ditch outside Robb Elementary School. He came out with an AR-15-style rifle and numerous magazines, law enforcement sources told ABC News. He also wore body armor.
As he approached the school, a school resources officer from Uvalde ISD engaged the suspect, but Ramos shot him, law enforcement sources said.
The shooting took place as soon as the suspect entered the school and all the victims of the school died “in the same place inside the school,” authorities told ABC News.
Inside the school, the suspect exchanged fire with UValde ISD agents and Border Patrol Tactical Unit agents, sources told ABC News.
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“U.S. Border Patrol officers responded to a request for law enforcement assistance for an active shooter situation at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde. Upon entering the building, law enforcement officials and other law enforcement officers clashed with the subject, who was barricaded inside, “a DHS spokeswoman said in a statement posted on Twitter.
Law enforcement sources told ABC News that they are now tracing the AR-15 style used by the shooter, and also recovered the body armor and numerous ammunition magazines.
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ABC News confirmed that fourth-grade teacher Eva Mireles was among the dead. Mireles worked at the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District for 17 years, her aunt, Lydia Martínez Delgado, said in a statement.
“This is my hometown, a small community of less than 20,000 people. I never imagined this would happen especially to loved ones,” Delgado said.
The family also identified that one of the children killed was 10-year-old Xavier López. I was in fourth grade. Her cousin told ABC News that her mother had attended her awards ceremony just a couple of hours before the shooting, not knowing it would be the last time she saw her son.
“When parents drop off their children at school, they have every expectation that they will be able to pick up their child when the school day is over. And there are families who are in mourning right now,” Abbott said. “The state of Texas is mourning them for the fact that these parents will not be able to pick up their children.”
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Two police officers who responded were among the injured, Abbott said. They are expected to survive, he said.
Investigators are combing the shooter’s social media and reportedly sent videos and photos of weapons to other users on various platforms, ABC News reports.
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Uvalde Memorial Hospital had said 15 students were being treated at the hospital’s emergency department following the incident. Two patients were taken to San Antonio for treatment, while a third was pending transfer, the hospital said. A 45-year-old man was also hospitalized after being shot by a bullet, the hospital said.
San Antonio University Health said it had two patients in the shooting incident, a 66-year-old woman and a 10-year-old girl, both in critical condition.
Two adult victims of the school shooting are being treated at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, according to an Army officer, who had no update on his condition.
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Some of the victims of the shooting are children of Customs and Border Patrol officers, police sources told ABC News.
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Uvalde Mayor Don McLaughlin did not confirm the casualties, but told ABC News in a text message that “this is a very bad situation.” He said the office is trying to contact parents before disclosing any information.
The shooting took place shortly after 11:30 a.m. local time, police said.
The school, which has second, third and fourth graders, informed parents shortly after 2 p.m. that the students had been transferred to Sgt. Willie Deleon Civic Center, the reunion site, and could be picked up.
Father Ryan Ramirez told San Antonio ABC KSAT affiliate that he had gone to the civic center and elementary school trying to find his fourth-grade daughter after the shooting.
“[I’m] just confused and worried. I’m trying to figure out where my baby is, “she told the station.
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The school has been canceled for the remainder of the school year, including all extracurricular activities on Wednesdays and Thursdays. The graduation ceremony “will be addressed later,” officials said. Mourning counseling will also be available, according to officials.
Uvalde, Texas, is located about 90 minutes west of San Antonio.
The Bexar County Sheriff’s Office and the San Antonio Police Department are sending aid and the FBI is responding.
The Houston Field Division of the Office of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives also said it is assisting in the investigation.
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Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas has been briefed on the situation and the agency “is actively coordinating with federal, state and local partners,” a spokesman said. Customs and Border Protection officers from the area also went to the scene.
The National Center for Counterterrorism Operations believes that “there is no known link to terrorism” at this time, according to a law enforcement bulletin obtained by ABC News.
“Why are you here ?!”
Furious Senator Chris Murphy asks for answers from senators after the Texas school shooting.
“Why are you spending all this time running for the United States Senate … if your answer is as slaughter increases, as our children run to save their lives, we’re doing nothing?” pic.twitter.com/9fkJ13vWGd
– ABC News (@ABC) May 24, 2022
Since 2017, mass shootings in the United States, described as shooting incidents in which at least four people are injured or killed, have almost doubled year after year. There have already been 212 mass shootings in 2022, 50% more than the 141 shootings in May 2017. The graph above shows the number of shooting incidents per state. Mobile users: Click here to see our map of the mass shootings in the United States over the past five years
The number of people injured or killed does not include the suspect or the perpetrator. These graphs show the number of casualties in all the mass shootings over the past five years.
Pierre Thomas, Luke Barr, Aaron Katersky, Nicholas Kerr and Mireya Villarreal of ABC News contributed to this report.
This is a developing story. Please check for updates again.
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