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Gunman at a Texas elementary school kills 19 students and two adults before being fatally shot
An 18-year-old gunman fatally shot 19 children and two adults at the Robb Elementary School in Texas before he was killed by law enforcement officers, on Tuesday, 24 May 2022. The shooter, identified by Texas officials as Salvador Ramos, of Uvalde, also shot his grandmother before crashing a vehicle near the school, Texas Department of Public Safety Sgt Erick Estrada said. She is in critical condition, he said. The gunman is believed to have acted alone, Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District Police Chief Pete Arredondo said. Investigators later said that Ramos was armed with a handgun, an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle and high-capacity magazines.
Estrada said the gunman wrecked a vehicle while driving near the school after shooting his grandmother. "The suspect did crash near a ditch nearby the school. That's where he exited his vehicle with what I believe was a rifle and that's when he attempted to enter the school where he was engaged by law enforcement." The gunman had body armor, the rifle and a backpack, Estrada said. The shooter made it into several classrooms, Estrada added. He “barricaded himself by locking the door and just started shooting children and teachers that were inside that classroom,” Lt Christopher Olivarez of the Department of Public Safety told media. “It just shows you the complete evil of the shooter.” All those killed were in the same classroom, he said. Department of Public Safety Director Steve McCraw told reporters that 40 minutes to an hour elapsed from when Ramos opened fire on the school security officer to when the tactical team shot him, though a department spokesman said later that they could not give a solid estimate of how long the gunman was in the school or when he was killed. Raul Ortiz, Chief of the US Border Patrol, told media that agents arrived at the scene after police officers engaged the suspect at the school. Several members of the Border Patrol tactical team, a search and rescue responder and a few other agents joined local officers to form a team that went after the gunman. "They didn't hesitate. They came up with a plan. They entered that classroom and they took care of the situation as quickly as they possibly could," Ortiz said. US Customs and Border Protection, which is the largest law enforcement agency in the area due Uvalde's proximity to Mexico, had more than 20 agents respond to the shooting, according to a law enforcement official. A CBP agent was shot in the head but is in stable condition after the bullet did not penetrate, the official said. Before attacking the school, Ramos shot and wounded his grandmother at the home they shared, authorities said. Neighbour Gilbert Gallegos, age 82, who lives across the street and has known the family for decades, said he was puttering in his yard when he heard the shots. Ramos ran out the front door and across the small yard to the truck parked in front of the house. He seemed panicked, Gallegos said, and had trouble getting the truck out of park. Then he raced away: “He spun out, I mean fast,” spraying gravel in the air. His grandmother emerged covered in blood, “She says, ‘Berto, this is what he did. He shot me.’” She was hospitalised. Gallegos, whose wife called 911, said he had heard no arguments before or after the shots and knew of no history of bullying or abuse of Ramos, who he rarely saw. Investigators also shed no light on Ramos’ motive for the attack, which also left at least 17 people wounded. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said Ramos, a resident of the small town about 135 kilometres west of San Antonio, had no known criminal or mental health history. “We don’t see a motive or catalyst right now,” said McCraw of the Department of Public Safety. Ramos legally bought the rifle and a second one like it last week, just after his birthday, authorities said. About a half-hour before the mass shooting, Ramos sent the first of three online messages warning about his plans, Abbott said. Ramos wrote that he was going to shoot his grandmother, then that he had shot the woman. In the last note, sent about 15 minutes before he reached Robb Elementary, he said he was going to shoot up an elementary school, according to Abbott. Investigators said Ramos did not specify which school. Ramos sent the private, one-to-one text messages via Facebook, said company spokesman Andy Stone. It was not clear who received the messages. The FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) are assisting local and state authorities with the investigation. Tuesday's incident marks at least the 30th shooting at a K-12 school in 2022. So far in 2022 there have been at least 39 shootings in K-12 schools, colleges and universities, resulting in at least 10 deaths and 51 injuries. It is the deadliest shooting at a school since the Sandy Hook massacre in Connecticut in 2012 that left 26 people dead, including 20 children between six and seven years old. Sources: CNN, Associated Press |
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