Texas elementary school shooting: At least 19 children, 2 teachers killed

Ukraine's foreign minister has offered his condolences to the families of the victims of the school shooting in Uvalde, saying his nation "shares the pain of our U.S. friends."

"Horrible news from Uvalde, Texas," Dmytro Kuleba said in a tweet early Wednesday. "Our deepest sympathy is with the victims and their families."

"As a nation that goes through the pain of losing innocent young lives, Ukraine shares the pain of our U.S. friends," he said. "We stand in solidarity with you at this difficult time," he said, tweeting at Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

Andriy Yermak, the head of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s office also drew allusions to the war in Ukraine, writing in a Telegram post: "Terrible news about the shooting in Texas. More than 20 people died at the school. These are young people…"

"Unfortunately, Ukraine is losing the innocent lives of children and young people because of the war. And we know how painful it is," he said.

A fourth grade teacher who was wounded in the school shooting in Texas is expected to survive after having undergone “intense surgery,” a relative told NewsNation.

Elsa Avila, a math and science teacher who has taught with the Uvalde school district for 16 years, was shot in the stomach and the abdomen, Hugo Avila, her cousin, told NewsNation.

Avila said his cousin was out of surgery and appears to be doing OK, it reported.

Another fourth grade teacher at Robb Elementary School, Eva Mireles, was fatally shot.

Two teachers and 19 students were killed.

The government of Mexico offered its condolences Tuesday after the mass shooting at a Texas elementary school and said it is offering consulate assistance if needed.

“The Government of Mexico strongly condemns this act of violence that has cost children’s lives and devastated families in a predominantly Hispanic town,” Mexico’s Foreign Affairs Ministry said.

Nineteen students and two teachers were killed when an 18-year-old gunman opened fire at the Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, around 60 miles from the U.S.-Mexico border, officials said.

Officials have not publicly identified the victims.

The gunman was killed when he was confronted by law enforcement, Gov. Greg Abbott has said. Officials have not released a possible motive.

Mexico’s government said its consulates in Eagle Pass and San Antonio are in contact with hospitals to determine whether if any of the injured were its citizens.

Police officers were initially unable to stop a gunman who was wearing body armor and carrying a rifle when he killed 19 children and two teachers at a Texas school Tuesday, an official said

Lt. Chris Olivarez of the Texas Department of Public Safety said the officers, who entered Robb Elementary School and “engaged” the gunman, had to await a tactical team.

Those officers fatally shot him, Olivarez said.

The three officers who initially opened fire were a school resource officer and two from the city of Uvalde, Olivarez told other news outlets.

It wasn’t clear whether the suspected shooter killed other people while they awaited the team’s arrival.

The 18-year-old who opened fire at a Texas elementary school Tuesday, killing at least 19 students, bought two rifles on his 18th birthday, a state senator said.

Texas state Sen. Roland Gutierrez, a Democrat, said he was told in a briefing by Texas Rangers that the gunman bought two assault-style rifles from a store in Uvalde County.

NBC News has not independently confirmed that detail. Authorities have not said definitively what weapons were used. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said earlier that it was believed the shooter had a handgun and possibly a rifle.

Nineteen students and two teachers died in the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety. The gunman is also dead.

President Joe Biden referred to two rifles in an address to the nation Tuesday, urging Americans to “stand up” to the firearms industry.

“The idea that an 18-year-old kid can walk into a gun store and buy two assault weapons — it’s just wrong,” Biden said. “What in God’s name do you need an assault weapon for, except to kill someone?”

The National Rifle Association is scheduled to hold its annual convention in Houston days after a gunman killed 19 students and two teachers at an elementary school in the state.

Gov. Greg Abbott and Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, are scheduled to speak at Friday's NRA leadership forum, as well as former President Donald Trump, according to its website.

The NRA did not respond to a request for comment about whether there would be any changes in the program at Houston’s convention center after Tuesday’s mass shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde.

Representatives for Abbott, Cruz and Trump did not immediately respond to questions about whether they would attend as the NRA announced.

The NRA had said Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, was a confirmed speaker, but a spokesman said Cornyn had previously declined because of a scheduling issue.

“Prior to the tragedy today in Uvalde we had already informed the NRA he would not be able to speak due to an unexpected change in his schedule,” Cornyn spokesman Drew Brandewie said. “He has to be in D.C. for personal reasons on Friday.”

Former President Barack Obama, whose administration steered the country in the wake of the 2012 mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut, called out a lack of political will to take action to prevent gun violence hours after the Robb Elementary School shooting.

"Michelle and I grieve with the families in Uvalde, who are experiencing pain no one should have to bear," he wrote in a statement on Twitter. "We’re also angry for them. Nearly ten years after Sandy Hook — and ten days after Buffalo — our country is paralyzed, not by fear, but by a gun lobby and a political party that have shown no willingness to act in any way that might help prevent these tragedies"

Los Palominos, a Grammy-winning Tejano music group based in Uvalde, said in a Facebook post that its members "pray for the families and the people of our beloved hometown."

"Our hearts are broken," the group said. (The message was printed in Spanish, too.)

Los Palominos won a Grammy Award for best Tejano album in 2000 for "Por Eso Te Amo."