Mourning has engulfed the Texas city of Uvalde as more details emerged about the school shooting that killed 21 people. Nineteen children between the ages of eight and 11 and two teachers were shot dead by a teenager who had bought two AR-15-style semi-automatic rifles a few days earlier, after his 18th birthday.
All those who died were in the same classroom, but gunman Salvador Ramos had already shot his grandmother and had shot several people at the time. He had also sent a series of messages indicating his intention to kill.
Spectators urged police officers to charge at Texas Elementary School, where a gunman was shot, witnesses said. It comes as investigators worked to trace the massacre, which lasted more than 40 minutes and ended when the 18-year-old assailant was killed by a Border Patrol team.
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“Come in! Come in! “Nearby women called officers shortly after the attack began, said Juan Carranza, 24, who saw the scene from outside his home on the other side of the street. Robb Elementary School in the close-knit town of Uvalde Carranza said officers did not enter.
Javier Cazares, whose fourth-grader daughter Jacklyn Cazares died in the attack, said she ran to school when she learned of the shooting and arrived while police were still concentrated outside the building. Disgusted that the police would not move, he raised the idea of entering the school with several other spectators.
“We are in a hurry because the police are not doing anything as they are supposed to do,” he said. “It simply came to our notice then. They were unprepared. who fled unharmed.
Officials say he “stumbled” on a school district security officer outside the school, although there were conflicting reports from authorities about whether the men exchanged gunfire.
Community members mourn together in a vigil for the 21 victims of the mass shooting at Rob Elementary School on May 25, 2022 in Uvalde, Texas. (Image: Getty Images)
After running inside, he fired at two UValde police officers who were outside the building, Texas Department of Homeland Security spokesman Travis Considine said. Police officers were injured. After entering the school, Ramos charged against a classroom and started killing.
“He barricaded himself by closing the door and started shooting at children and teachers who were inside that classroom,” Christopher Olivarez of the Department of Public Safety told CNN. “It just shows you the complete evil of the shooter.”
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All the killers were in the same classroom, he said. Department of Homeland Security director Steve McCraw told reporters it took 40 minutes to an hour from Ramos opening fire on the school’s security officer until the tactical equipment fired at him. although a department spokesman later said they could not give a solid estimate of how long the gunman was at school or when he was killed.
“The bottom line is that there was law enforcement,” McCraw said. “They committed immediately. They contained (Ramos) in the classroom.”
Meanwhile, a police official familiar with the investigation said Border Patrol officers had trouble breaking down the classroom door and had to have a staff member open the room with a key. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not allowed to speak publicly about the ongoing investigation.
Carranza said officers should have entered the school earlier. “There were more. There was only one,” he said.
Community members mourn together in a vigil for the 21 victims of the mass shooting at Rob Elementary School on May 25, 2022 in Uvalde, in a vigil for the 21 victims of the mass shooting at Rob Elementary School on May 25 May 2022 in Uvalde, Texas. Nineteen students and two adults were killed, and the gunman was shot dead by law enforcement (Image: Getty Images)
Uvalde is a predominantly Latin city of about 16,000 people about 120 kilometers (75 miles) from the border with Mexico. Robb Elementary, which has about 600 second-, third-, and fourth-grade students, is a one-story brick structure in a predominantly residential neighborhood of modest homes.
Before attacking the school, Ramos shot and injured his grandmother in the house they shared, authorities said. Neighbor Gilbert Gallegos, 82, who lives across the street and has known the family for decades, said he was shooting in his yard when he heard gunshots.
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Ramos ran out the front door and crossed the small courtyard to the truck parked in front of the house. He appeared to be in a panic, Mr Gallegos said, and had trouble getting the truck out of the park before fleeing. Her grandmother came out covered in blood: “She says, ‘Berto, that’s what she did. He shot me. ” She was taken to hospital.
Gallegos, whose wife called 911, said he had not heard any discussion before or after the shootings and that he knew of no history of harassment or abuse by Ramos, whom he rarely saw. Investigators also failed to shed light on the cause of Ramos’ attack, which also left at least 17 injured.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said Ramos had no known criminal or mental health record. Ramos legally bought the rifle and a second one like this last week, just after his birthday, authorities said.
About half an hour before the mass shooting, Ramos sent the first of three messages online warning of his plans, Abbott said. Ramos wrote that he was going to shoot his grandmother, after he had shot the woman. On the last note, sent about 15 minutes before arriving at Robb Elementary, he said he was going to shoot an elementary school. Ramos sent private text messages one by one via Facebook, company spokesman Andy Stone said.
(Image: Getty Images)
as the details emerged. Among the dead were Eliahna Garcia, an outgoing 10-year-old girl who loved to sing, dance, and play basketball; a roommate, Xavier Javier López, who was looking forward to a summer of swimming; and a teacher, Eva Mireles, whose husband is an officer in the school district’s police department.
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The tragedy was the latest in a seemingly endless wave of mass shootings in the United States in recent years. Just 10 days earlier, 10 black people were shot dead in a racist attack at a supermarket in Buffalo, New York. The bombing was the deadliest school shooting in the United States since a gunman killed 20 children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Connecticut, in December 2012.
Amid calls for stricter gun restrictions, the Republican governor has repeatedly spoken out about the mental health struggles among Texas youth and argued that the toughest gun laws in Chicago, New York and California are ineffective. Democrat Beto O’Rourke, who is running for governor against Abbott, interrupted Wednesday’s press conference, calling the tragedy “predictable.”
A Texas state official receives flowers for the victims of a mass shooting yesterday at Robb Elementary School where 21 people, including 19 children, were killed on May 25, 2022 in Uvalde, Texas. (Image: Getty Images)
Pointing his finger at Mr. Abbott, he said, “It’s up to you until you decide to do something different. This will keep happening.”
Mr. O’Rourke was escorted outside while some in the room called him. Texas has some of the most pro-gun laws in the nation and has been the site of some of the deadliest shootings in the United States in five years.
“I don’t know how people can sell this kind of weapon to an 18-year-old boy,” said Syria’s Arizmendi, the victim’s aunt Eliahna Garcia, angry in tears. “What will he use it for but this purpose?”
President Joe Biden said on Wednesday that “the second amendment is not absolute,” as he called for new arms restrictions following the massacre. But the prospects for reform of national weapons regulations seemed weak. Repeated attempts over the years to expand background checks and enact other brakes have met with Republican opposition in Congress.
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