According to Sgt. Erick Estrada of the Texas Department of Public Safety, the number of people confirmed lost their lives in a school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, has increased to 21.
As per information shared by Estrada to CNN, nineteen kids who are said to be between 7 and 9 years old, along with 2 adults are amongst the deceased. The shooter also lost their lives during the event.
New information has also been shared by Estrada regarding the events that caused the frightening killing at Robb Elementary School.
As per calls to law enforcement starting at about 11:20 a.m. local time, the 18-year-old gunman who was a resident of Uvalde shot his grandmother at her home before moving toward the school in a large truck. The teen also banged the vehicle in a ditch near the small campus.
Law enforcement has been told that he was spotted departing the truck holding “some sort of rifle,” a backpack, and he also put on body armor. Estrada said that he entered the school building using a south-facing door and started shooting.
As of now, it is unknown whether the shooter had a particular target or targets in his mind.
A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said that U.S. Border Patrol agents were among the law enforcement who retorted, exchanging gunfire with the gunman who had locked himself inside. It is said that at least one Border Patrol agent suffered injuries and it has also been believed that a border patrol agent shot and executed the suspect.
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Nearly 600 students enrolled in the school in the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th grades. One of the victims is said to be an adult who was working as a teacher at Robb Elementary. According to the official website of the school, Thursday was supposed to be the last day of the school year.
This mass shooting emerged only ten days after a white gunman started open firing at a Tops supermarket in a Black neighborhood of Buffalo, N.Y. 10 people were murdered in that shooting.
It’s Time for Lawmakers to Stand Up to the Gun Lobby: President Biden
On Tuesday night, President Joe Biden told the nation in an address from the White House “I had hoped when I became president I would not have to do this — again.”
He added with heavy sighs “Another massacre. Uvalde, Texas. An elementary school. Beautiful, innocent second, third and fourth graders. And how many scores of little children who witnessed what happened — see their friends die, as if they’re on a battlefield, for God’s sake. They’ll live with it the rest of their lives.”
Biden further said “What struck me was these kinds of mass shootings rarely happen anywhere else in the world. Why?”
He was frustrated and tired of the situation. Biden continued “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 with the kind of frequency they happen in America. Why? Why are we willing to live with this carnage?” adding further “As a nation, we have to ask, when in God’s name are we going to stand up to the gun lobby?”
Before putting the light on the mass shooting that took place in the 10 years since the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary, which emerged while he was serving as vice president, more than 900 incidents of gunfire have been reported on school grounds, he said: “When in God’s name will we do what we all know in our gut needs to be done?”
He mentioned “We have to act,” adding “And don’t tell me we can’t have an impact on this carnage.”
In the past twenty years, lawmakers have initiated gun control policy changes following mass shootings but obtaining the required votes to pass the Senate turned out to be a real struggle, with the opposing Republicans.
To honor the victims, Biden ordered flags at the White House and other government buildings to be flown at half-staff.
The State of Texas Is in Mourning: Gov. Greg Abbott
Abbott said “When parents drop their kids off at school they have every expectation to know that they’re going to be able to pick their child up when that school day ends,” adding “There are families who are in mourning right now, and the state of Texas is in mourning with them for the reality that these parents are not going to be able to pick up their children.”
Superintendent Hal Harrell stated that the remainder of the school year was rescinded. On Tuesday evening, he told the reporters “My heart was broken today,” adding “We’re a small community and we’ll need your prayers to get us through this.”
Uziyah Garcia has been identified as one of the victims of Tuesday’s school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, his aunt confirms to @NBCDFW. He was 10-years-old. https://t.co/lZ8ftrIRzJ pic.twitter.com/gNsIkkjhYg
— Jacob Reyes (@JacobReyesDFW) May 25, 2022
Injured victims are still being diagnosed, some of them have been sent to San Antonio
According to the confirmation by officials of University Memorial Hospital in Uvalde, 2 victims were dead on arrival and no other information has been shared regarding the deceased.
13 children were sent to the hospital, among whom, 2 have been sent to facilities in San Antonio.
A woman (66) and a girl (10) were also transferred to University Hospital in San Antonio. The woman is in a critical condition, the hospital confirmed.
Officials Share Information Regarding the Event
The 66-year-old is the grandmother of the gunman, State Sen. Roland Gutierrez told CNN.
While referring to the grandmother’s condition, the senator said “She is still hanging on”
Uvalde police department officials confirmed that the suspected shooter was captured at 1:06 p.m. local time, nearly an hour and a half after an active shooter was reported first.
The shooting at the school started at 11:32 a.m. All local schools progressed into lockdown after the news of the active shooter circulated, Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District officials.
Students and teachers were moved out to the city’s civic center, where officials are now providing grief counseling on Wednesday.
Final Words
We will keep you updated with all the latest information until then stay tuned to our website, Leedaily.com.