Fourteen children and a teacher were killed in a shooting at a Texas elementary school Tuesday morning, Governor Greg Abbott said.
The suspected gunman, who may have had a handgun and rifle, was fatally injured during the police response to the attack on Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, about 80 miles west of San Antonio, he said.
“It is believed he left his vehicle and then entered Robb Elementary School in Uvalde with a handgun, and he may have also had a gun,” Abbott said at a news conference.
“He shot and gruesomely and incomprehensibly killed 14 students and murdered a teacher,” the governor said.
The attack was reported as a mass casualty shortly after 11:30 am, authorities said. The suspected gunman was identified as Salvador Rolando Ramos, 18, multiple senior law enforcement sources said.
Several survivors – the exact number was unknown – were treated at regional hospitals.
Suspect acted alone, may have shot his grandmother
“The investigation leads the suspect to act alone during this heinous crime,” Pete Arredondo, the police chief of the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District, said at a news conference.
Two senior law enforcement officers informed about the shooting said investigators were trying to determine whether the suspect also shot his grandmother before the incident.
FBI agents and customs and border guards assisted local police in investigating the suspect’s motives and background, authorities said. Uvalde is about 70 miles from the Port of Del Rio.
Meanwhile, families of the deceased were notified, the governor said.
Biden to address nation
President Joe Biden has been briefed on the attack and will address the nation on Tuesday evening, press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said. Twitter. The White House said the briefing will be at 8:15 p.m. ET from the Roosevelt Room.
“His prayers are with the families affected by this terrible event, and he will speak tonight when he returns to the White House,” Jean-Pierre said.
The president ordered flags to be flown at half-mast at federal buildings and military posts through Saturday night.
Victims flood hospitals, injured including officers
Early reports say 13 children were taken to the emergency room at Uvalde Memorial Hospital Facebook statement and hospital director Tom Nordwick. Two were transferred and one was awaiting transfer, Nordwick said.
Two people were pronounced dead before arriving at the hospital, Nordwick said. Their names and ages were not released.
Two officers were hit when they apparently exchanged gunfire with the gunman, Abbott said. They sustained injuries that were not considered life-threatening, he said.
Brooke Army Medical Center at Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston said it was treating two adult victims who were in critical condition.
University Health, located in San Antonio, said in a tweet that it was treating a 10-year-old girl and a 66-year-old woman, both in critical condition.
The school serves second through fourth grade in a city nearly half speak non-English, according to the US Census Bureau.
Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District Initially Announced on Twitter that there was “an active shooter” in elementary school.
“The police are on the scene. Your cooperation is needed at this time by not visiting the campus. Once more information is gathered, it will be shared,” the tweet said.
Uvalde police urged the public to avoid the area.
Students were taken to Uvalde High School for reunion with parents, police and the school district. But the neighborhood asked parents not to pick up their children. “You’ll be notified to pick up students once they’re all accounted for,” an update from the district said.
District Superintendent Hal Harrell said the school year, which was scheduled to end Thursday, is over.
“My heart is broken today,” Harrell said at a news conference Tuesday night. “We are a small community and we need your prayers to get through this.”
The shooting happened after new FBI statistics released Monday showed that active shooting incidents had risen more than 50 percent from 2020 in 2021 and nearly 97 percent from 2017.
Founded in 1888 as a ranch and crossroads town, Uvalde has a population of 8,921 according to the census.
According to district data, nearly 90 percent of Robb Elementary School’s 574 students are Latino, while nearly 9 percent are white.
About 87 percent of students are considered economically disadvantaged.
Ali Gostanian† Maya Brown† Natalie Obregon† Tom Winter† Jonathan Service† Andrew Blankstein† Julia Lee† Diana Dasrath † Suzanne Cichalskic† Suzanne Gamboa† Gemma DiCasimirro† Juliette Arcodia† Joe Studley and Courtney Brogle contributed†
