19 students, 2 teachers dead in Texas elementary school shooting, gunman ID’d
Ns News Online Desk: A teen gunman opened fire at a Texas elementary school Tuesday, killing at least 21 people — including 19 kids and two teachers — before he was shot dead by police in one of the deadliest school slaughters in US history, officials said.
The shooter, identified as Salvador Ramos, 18, allegedly shot his grandmother before heading to Robb Elementary School in Uvalde with two assault rifles around 11:32 a.m. local time, according to officials.
The crime spree — eerily evocative of the 2012 Sandy Hook shooting that left 26 dead — took place just two days from the end of the school year and sent parents scrambling in a mad search for their children.
“This is just evil,” Rey Chapa, whose nephew attends the school that hosts 2nd, 3rd and 4th graders, told the New York Times. “I’m afraid I’m going to know a lot of these kids that were killed. ”Brandon Elrod told ABC 13 he was searching for his 10-year-old daughter. “She may not be alive,” he said.
Police officials from the Texas Department of Public Safety, US Customs and Border Protection and a slew of local agencies descended on the tiny town located about 60 miles east of the Mexico border to respond to the shooting, which has left residents reeling.
Tuesday’s shooting was one of the worst school massacres in US history — in 2012, 20 first graders and six educators were killed in a shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut. The gunman in that case, Adam Lanza, gunned down his mother in bed before opening fire at the school.
Thirty-two people died in a shooting at Virginia Tech in 2007.Tuesday’s attack also comes on the heels the Buffalo, New York supermarket shooting, where 10 people died.
Texas State Sen. Roland Gutierrez told CNN 20 people in total were killed and two assault rifles, which the gunman had purchased on his 18th birthday, were used in the massacre.
The Texas Department of Public Safety said later Tuesday that Ramos’ grandmother was also killed, but later clarified that she was in critical condition. A teacher identified as Eva Mireles was killed along with the 19 children, ABC 13 reported.
Fourteen children and one adult with minor injuries were taken to Uvalde Medical Center, the hospital’s CEO Tom Nordwick told The Post.
By the evening, some of those injured were already being discharged and three had been transferred to hospitals in San Antonio, Nordwick said, declining to provide information on the patient’s conditions.
A 10-year-old girl and 66-year-old woman, both in critical condition, were taken to University Health San Antonio, the only Level 1 trauma center for both adults and children in the region. The two officers who were also wounded “have no serious injuries,” Abbott said.
The Uvalde Police Department and the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District have released few details about the shooting. During an evening press conference, school district officials and the district’s chief of police Pete Arredondo read a short statement that didn’t address the number of casualties. They declined to answer questions.
“I can confirm right now that we have several injuries, adults and students, and we do have some deaths,” Arredondo said.
“DPS is assisting with the investigation and at this point the investigation is leading to tell us that the suspect did act alone during this heinous crime. The shooter, who Abbott said was a US citizen who attended Uvalde High School, had a purported Instagram account that included one brooding selfie and numerous pictures of firearms and ammunition.