An 18-year-old male opened fire at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas on Tuesday, killing at least 18 children and a teacher and injuring dozens more. The exact number of casualties has not yet been determined.
Around 12:17 p.m. on May 24, the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District (UCISD) reported an active shooter at Robb Elementary in Uvalde, Texas.
The shooter, identified as Salvador Ramos, is also dead, according to Gov. Abbott, and may have been shot by responding officers.
“It’s believed that responding officers killed him,” said Abbott. “It appears that two responding officers were struck by rounds but have no serious injuries.”
The school is about an hour and a half west of San Antonio. According to UCISD Police Chief Pedro Arredondo, the school teaches second through fourth grade.
Ramos reportedly abandoned his car and entered the school wearing body armor, allegedly carrying both a handgun and a rifle.
Abbott also stated that the shooter allegedly shot his grandmother before entering the elementary school. However, the link between that incident and the one at the school is unknown at this time.
The grandmother’s condition has not been revealed.
Uvalde Memorial Hospital said 13 students were being treated in the emergency room in the event’s aftermath, and two people arrived at the hospital already deceased. According to the hospital, two patients were transferred to San Antonio for treatment, while a third was awaiting transfer.
A 45-year-old man was also admitted after being grazed by a bullet, according to the hospital.
According to the University Health in San Antonio, a 66-year-old woman and a 10-year-old girl, both in critical condition, are under their care. A 9-year-old girl was also admitted in fair condition.
The Children’s Hospital in San Antonio additionally reported receiving patients from the shooting.
President Biden has been informed of the elementary school shooting, according to White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.
“President Biden has been briefed on the horrific news of the elementary school shooting in Texas and will continue to be briefed regularly as information becomes available,” Jean-Pierre tweeted.
She added, “His prayers are with the families impacted by this awful event, and he will speak this evening when he arrives back at the White House.”
Parents were notified shortly after 2 p.m. local time that their children had been taken to the Sgt. Willie Deleon Civic Center, where they could be picked up.
The UCISD said it was canceling all school activities after Tuesday’s shooting and would hold a press conference soon.
In the wake of the shooting, many anti-gun advocates have come forward to call for more to be done to prevent further tragedies.
State Representative Rafael Anchía (D-Dallas), chairman of the Mexican American Legislative Caucus, said in a statement, “Texas cannot continue down this path. It should be safe for teachers and kids to go to school.”
“Every day that we do not address the epidemic of gun violence is one too many,” said Anchía. “Without gun safety protections, the slaughtering of innocent lives will continue.”
Chris McNutt, a pro-gun advocate with Texas Gun Rights, agreed that Tuesday’s events were tragic.
He told The Dallas Express, “This senseless tragedy is absolutely gut-wrenching. As a father, I am praying for the families and the victims to find peace and the strength to get through this.”
However, McNutt said that anti-gun leaders use these tragedies as opportunities to advocate for gun restrictions.
“Sadly, before we even know all of the details, or before the crime scene has even been fully processed, the anti-gun left is already exploiting this tragedy by pushing for radical gun control,” McNutt continued.
“But so far these are the facts we do know: the shooter was in a ‘gun free’ zone. The shooter is not eligible to purchase a handgun under federal law, nor is he allowed to carry it under Texas law,” he said. “Yet gun control advocates like Brady (Brady: United Against Gun Violence, a nonprofit against gun violence) are already calling for an end to the filibuster in the U.S. Senate, so they can ram their gun control agenda through with a simple majority. Laws that frankly could not have prevented the actions of this deranged criminal.”
Dudley Brown, executive director of the National Association for Gun Rights, concurred with McNutt that restricting firearms would not have prevented the shooting. Further, Brown claims such restrictions do the opposite.
He said in a statement, “Every day law abiding citizens use firearms to protect themselves, their families, and their communities, yet we’ve passed laws which prevent teachers and responsible adults from protecting our children while they go to school.”
“The painful truth is that the Gun Free School Zones Act has equipped evil men to carry out their crimes against helpless people,” Brown added. “Joe Biden and anti-gun politicians will desperately attack millions of law-abiding gun owners who live peaceful lives, not because they want to pass laws which will actually save children — but to expand their disastrous policies which enable the loss of innocent life.”
Still, State Representative Donna Howard (D-Austin) holds that gun restrictions are not implemented to infringe upon the rights of citizens.
“This is not about denying guns to law abiding people. It’s about irresponsible policies that make guns easily and readily accessible to those who would do harm—including to our children, for god’s sake,” she tweeted.