Nineteen Students, Two Teachers Killed in Texas Elementary School Shooting

Nineteen students and two teachers were killed in a shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, on Tuesday, with officials saying the death toll is expected to rise. It was the deadliest mass shooting across the U.S. this year, and in the state’s history.

A spokesman for the Uvalde County Sheriff’s Office told National Review that a single gunman, 18-year-old Salvador Ramos, entered the school and began firing at students at 11:32 a.m. Central Time. Texas Governor Greg Abbott, in a press conference a few hours after the incident, said Ramos used a handgun and may have possessed a rifle. A since-deleted Instagram account belonging to Ramos showed a picture of him holding a rifle magazine, as well as two AR-15 style rifles.

The shooting occurred in a fourth-grade classroom, where the shooter barricaded himself with students as he fought of police. Two fourth-grade teachers, Eva Mireles and Irma Garcia, were identified as the adult victims. Mireles was a mother of one who had worked for school district for 17 years and was the partner of a police officer assigned to the school district. Garcia was the mother of four, including a U.S. Marine, and had been a teacher at Robb Elementary School for 24 years.

The names of children killed are being withheld by police at this time until their families may be informed. One child victim, Xavier Lopez, was identified by his family through a GoFundMe page created to raise money for his funeral. Other children killed in the assault — Nevaeh Bravo, Makenna Lee Elrod, Jose Flores, Ellie Garcia, Uiyzah Garcia, Amerie Jo Garza, Jayce Luevanos, Tess Mata, Miranda Mathis, Alithia Ramierz, Annabelle Rodriguez, Maite Rodriguez, Lexi Rubio, Jalia Silguero, Elihana Torres, and Rojelio Torres — were identified by relatives on Twitter. All were between the ages of eight and ten years old. The mother of Kendall Olivarez, a girl shot during the incident, claimed that her daughter was injured but “doing well” after surgery.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection alerted National Review to a video captured by an eyewitness sheltering in place at the scene that appears to show Ramos running along the school’s perimeter with a weapon in hand and entering the building. Law enforcement is currently examining the video along with other pictures and videos uploaded to social media of the shooter and the incident.

In a press conference on Wednesday, Texas Governor Greg Abbott stated that Ramos had been active on Facebook prior to the shooting and was posting live updates of his activities. “I’m going to kill my grandmother,” he first wrote, followed by “I’ve shot my grandmother,” and “I’m going to shoot an elementary school.”

Among those is a screenshot taken by an Uvalde High School student, shared with the Daily Dot, allegedly sent by Ramos of a receipt of purchase of an AR-15 from Daniel Defense, an online firearms vendor in Georgia, suggesting that the weapon had been purchased online. Texas State Senator John Whitmire, meanwhile, suggested that the shooter had purchased the weapons used in the shooting at a gun store on his 18th birthday.

Ramos allegedly killed his 66-year-old grandmother before the incident. Other law-enforcement sources that he confirmed that he was involved in a pursuit with police in a pick-up truck shortly before entering the school.

Ramos was killed by a combined tactical team of police and federal law enforcement, around 45 minutes after the incident began. Two officers, one being a U.S. Border Patrol agent, were injured in an exchange of gunfire but were reported to have survived. The shooter was reported to have fired at them through the school’s windows.

Ramos identity is being pieced together by investigators and the public after an exhaustive search of his background, both in Uvalde and online via social media. It is known that he was a student at Uvalde High School and reportedly celebrated his 18th birthday on May 16. The New York Times reported that he had worked at a Wendy’s restaurant in Uvalde. Social media posts by residents of Uvalde, claiming to know the shooter, said that he had moved to the community as a teenager. Investigators are trying to examine whether he attended Robb Elementary School.

Ramos’s motive and how he obtained the weapons are yet to be determined, according to Abbott. Because he was under 21 years old, the shooter was barred from carrying a handgun under federal law. Moreover, federal and state law also bars anyone, of any age, from carrying a gun on school grounds. In September of last year, Abbott signed HB 1927 into law, which codified these federal regulations.

Earlier, Uvalde Memorial Hospital Emergency Room had confirmed to National Review that two children were deceased on arrival. It also confirmed via Facebook that injured students were transported via school buses. On Tuesday night at 8:15 PM local time, the hospital confirmed that five students were still being treated at the hospital, while four were transferred to other hospitals for more advanced trauma care. Earlier in the day, one teacher and one student were airlifted to University Hospital in San Antonio, 85 miles east of Uvalde. On Twitter, the South Texas Blood and Tissue Center put out an urgent request for blood donations following the shooting.

Abbott also confirmed that the suspect was a U.S. citizen. Uvalde is located within 100 miles of the U.S.–Mexico border. Authorities have ruled out any involvement of organized crime or terrorist groups in the incident but stated that the investigation is ongoing.

Multiple eyewitnesses near the scene first told National Review that the shooter was in custody, which was confirmed by both the sheriff’s office and Uvalde Police Department. The FBI, ATF, U.S. Border Patrol, and other state-level law enforcement were present at the scene.

Videos posted to social media showed adults and children running out of the school, which has an enrollment of 600 students. Others, identified as parents, were seen running toward the school before police barricades were set up.

A business owner close to the school first told National Review that a number of students had been evacuated by police to the nearby Civic Center, which is under police protection until the situation was controlled. Parents were being asked to avoid the area for their safety and pick up their children from the center at the normal time of closing. While some families later claimed via social media that they had collected their children from the school, others reported that they were unable to locate their children. Reunification efforts continued through the night and into Wednesday morning. As of writing, they have not yet been completed.

At 6:45 p.m. Central Time, the Uvalde County Independent School District held a press conference to provide details on the shooting. Superintendent Hal Harrell said the school year was being terminated early, two days before its scheduled end, and that students should stay at home. The district’s police chief, Peter Arredondo, added that “no other suspects” were being pursued.

In remarks at the White House after returning from a foreign tour to Japan and South Korea, President Joe Biden claimed that the “gun lobby” was responsible for the shooting and suggested that he would attempt to restrict assault weapons. He also issued a presidential proclamation ordering all flags at federal buildings worldwide be lowered to half-staff.

During a previously scheduled event Tuesday evening, Vice President Kamala Harris delivered remarks on the shooting, saying, “Enough is enough” and calling on members of Congress “to take action . . . to ensure something like this never happens again,” a reference to gun-control measures that the Biden administration has argued are necessary to stop mass shootings.

This is a breaking news story and will be updated with further information.