At least 21 people including 19 children are dead after an active shooter incident on Tuesday sent a Texas elementary school into lockdown, State Senator Roland Gutierrez confirmed. The suspect in the shooting is dead, according to Abbott.
The shooter shot his grandmother, abandoned his vehicle and entered the school with a handgun and possibly a rifle. The shooting remains under investigation but Uvalde CISD police chief Pete Arredondo said the shooter appears to have acted alone.
According to Arredondo, the students who were killed were in the 2nd, 3rd and 4th grades and the shooting took place just two days before summer break.
Following the deaths of at least 18 children at an elementary school in Texas, the state’s attorney general Ken Paxton suggested arming and training “teachers and other administrators to respond quickly” in the event of a shooting.
The suspect in the shooting is dead, according to Abbott. Following the initial crime at Robb Elementary, children were taken to the emergency room at Uvalde Memorial Hospital, per a statement from the hospital.
Officials have not yet revealed a motive for the shooting, but said the shooter was a resident of Uvalde which is about 85 miles west of San Antonio.
President Joe Biden ordered flags at half-mast nationwide. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said President Biden has been briefed on the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas and will deliver remarks Tuesday evening at the White House.
“Texans across the state are grieving for the victims of this senseless crime and for the community of Uvalde,” said Texas Governor Greg Abbott in a released statement. “We thank the courageous first responders who worked to finally secure Robb Elementary School. I have instructed the Texas Department of Public Safety and the Texas Rangers to work with local law enforcement to fully investigate this crime. The Texas Division of Emergency Management is charged with providing local officials all resources necessary to respond to this tragedy as the State of Texas works to ensure the community has what it needs to heal.”
