Eighteen students and two teachers are dead after a shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, Tuesday afternoon, per the Texas Department of Public Safety. The gunman was fatally shot by police, Gov. Greg Abbott said.
The suspected gunman, named by Abbott as 18-year-old Salvador Ramos, was a resident of the community and entered the school with a handgun, and possibly a rifle, and opened fire, Abbott said. He said the shooter was likely killed by responding officers but that the events were still being investigated.
Uvalde police said the shooting happened in Uvalde -- about 85 miles west of San Antonio.
An active shooter was reported at Robb Elementary School, which has an enrollment of just under 600 students, Uvalde Consolidated ISD said. CBS News reported a teacher was shot on the campus. It's unknown if the gunman had targets or if he was shooting randomly.
Abbott issued the following statement Tuesday afternoon.
“Texans across the state are grieving for the victims of this senseless crime and for the community of Uvalde. Cecilia and I mourn this horrific loss and we urge all Texans to come together to show our unwavering support to all who are suffering. We thank the courageous first responders who worked to finally secure Robb Elementary School. I have instructed the Texas Department of Public Safety and the Texas Rangers to work with local law enforcement to fully investigate this crime. The Texas Division of Emergency Management is charged with providing local officials all resources necessary to respond to this tragedy as the State of Texas works to ensure the community has what it needs to heal.”
Uvalde Memorial Hospital said in a Facebook post that it was caring for "several students" in its emergency room, but it did not detail the nature or severity of their injuries.
Earlier Tuesday, the district said all its schools were locked down because of gunshots in the area. All students were being taken to the Civic Center where parents were to be given the all-clear before being allowed to pick them up.
A heavy police presence surrounded the school Tuesday afternoon, with officers in heavy vests diverting traffic and FBI agents coming and going from the building. School and city officials did not immediately return messages seeking comment.
In a statement released on Tuesday afternoon, President Biden ordered that flags across the United States be flown at half-staff:
"As a mark of respect for the victims of the senseless acts of violence perpetrated on May 24, 2022, by a gunman at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, by the authority vested in me as President of the United States by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, I hereby order that the flag of the United States shall be flown at half-staff at the White House and upon all public buildings and grounds, at all military posts and naval stations, and on all naval vessels of the Federal Government in the District of Columbia and throughout the United States and its Territories and possessions until sunset, May 28, 2022. I also direct that the flag shall be flown at half-staff for the same length of time at all United States embassies, legations, consular offices, and other facilities abroad, including all military facilities and naval vessels and stations."
On Tuesday night, Biden delivered remarks on the shooting from the White House.
"I had hoped when I became president I would not have to do this, again," Biden said. "Another massacre, Uvalde, Texas, an elementary school. Beautiful, innocent, second, third, fourth graders. And how many scores of little children who witnessed what happened, see their friends die as if they're in a battlefield for God's sake. They'll live with it the rest of their lives.
"There's a lot we don't know yet, there's a lot we do know. The parents who will never see their child again, never have them jump in bed and cuddle with them. Parents who will never be the same. To lose a child is like having a piece of your soul ripped away. There's a hollowness in your chest you feel like you're being sucked into it, and you're never going to be able to get out. It's suffocating, it's never quite the same."
Biden went on to ask the United States to pray for the victims' families, and asked when will people "stand up to the gun lobby."
"So tonight, I ask the nation to pray for them, give the parents and siblings the strength in the darkness they feel right now," Biden said. "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 will we do what we all know in our gut needs to be done?'"
Biden then referenced a number of recent mass shootings, including the grocery store in Buffalo, New York on May 14.
"I am sick and tired of it, we have to act," Biden added. "And don't tell me we cant have an impact on this carnage. I spend my career as a Senator and Vice President working to pass common sense gun laws. We can't and won't prevent every tragedy, but we know they work and have positive impact.
"When we passed the assaults weapons ban, mass shootings went down. When the law expired, mass shootings tripled. The idea that an eighteen year old kid can walk into a gun store and buy two assault weapons is just wrong. What in God's name do you need an assault weapon for except to kill someone. They aren't running through the forest with Kevlar vests on for God's sake, it's just sick."
Biden then finished his remarks and said that the country needs to stand up to gun lobbies in order to stop massing shootings from happening.
"Here's what else I know, most Americans support common sense gun laws," Biden said. "I just got off a trip from Asia meeting with Asian leaders, and learned of this while on the aircraft. What struck me on that 17 hour flight, what struck me is that these kinds of mass shootings rarely happen anywhere else in the world. Why? They have mental health problems, they have domestic disputes in other countries, they have people who are lost.
"But these kinds of mass shootings never happen the kind of frequency they happen in America, why? Why are we willing to live with this carnage? Why do we keep letting this happen? Where in God's name is our backbone to have the courage to stand up to the lobbies? It's time to turn this pain into action... It's time to act... We will not forget, we can do so much more, we have to do more."
"May God bless the loss of innocent life on this sad day. May the lord be near the broken hearted and save those crushed in spirit, because they're going to need a lot of help, a lot of our prayers."
Related
LISTEN on the Audacy App