At least 19 children and two teachers were killed Tuesday when a gunman opened fire in a Texas elementary school, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety.
The gunman opened fire at Robb Elementary School in the city of Uvalde (about 83 miles west of San Antonio) before he was killed by law enforcement, officials said.
“It is believed that he abandoned his vehicle, then entered into the Robb Elementary School in Uvalde with a handgun, and he may have also had a rifle,” Texas Governor Greg Abbott said at a news conference. “He shot and killed, horrifically and incomprehensibly, 14 students and killed a teacher,” the governor said before additional deaths were confirmed.
Multiple survivors were being treated at regional hospitals. “My heart is broken today,” said Hal Harrell, the school district superintendent. “We’re a small community, and we’re going to need your prayers to get through this.” Uvalde is a largely Latino town of some 16,000 people about 75 miles from the Mexican border.
Lt. Chris Olivarez of the Texas Department of Public Safety said the suspect shot his grandmother, who was hospitalized in critical condition, before he drove toward the school. Later, he went to the campus and opened fire. “He started shooting every single person that was in front of him,” the lieutenant said.
Shocked by the horror, the school on its Facebook page said the district’s school year including extra-curricular activities are canceled. “Our community has experienced a terrible tragedy. We must come together to console one another and respect the privacy of the families. Please keep all families in your prayers.”
The attack was the deadliest shooting at a U.S. school since a gunman killed 20 children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Connecticut, in December 2012.
In an address to the nation hours after the school attack, President Joe Biden made an emotional appeal calling for new gun restrictions. “As a nation, we have to ask, when in God’s name are we going to stand up to the gun lobby? When in God’s name are we going to do what has to be done?” Biden asked. “Why are we willing to live with this carnage?”
Victims of Uvalde school shooting
- Makenna Lee Elrod, 10
- Layla Salazar, 11
- Maranda Mathis, 11
- Nevaeh Bravo, 10
- Jose Manuel Flores Jr., 10
- Xavier Lopez, 10
- Tess Marie Mata, 10
- Rojelio Torres, 10
- Eliahna “Ellie” Amyah Garcia, 9
- Eliahna A. Torres, 10
- Annabell Guadalupe Rodriguez, 10
- Jackie Cazares, 9
- Uziyah Garcia
- Jayce Carmelo Luevanos, 10
- Maite Yuleana Rodriguez, 10
- Jailah Nicole Silguero, 10
- Irma Garcia, 48
- Eva Mireles, 44
- Amerie Jo Garza, 10
- Alexandria “Lexi” Aniyah Rubio, 10
- Alithia Ramirez, 10
