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

The shooter was fatally shot by law enforcement officers responding to the attack at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, about 80 miles west of San Antonio, Gov. Greg Abbott said. 

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A gunman killed 19 elementary school students and two teachers Tuesday in Uvalde, Texas.

The shooter was fatally shot by law enforcement officers responding to the attack at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, about 80 miles west of San Antonio, Gov. Greg Abbott said.

The number of injured people was not clear Tuesday evening.

Zelenskyy expresses condolences to victims’ families

Anisha Kukreja

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy offered his condolences on Wednesday to the families who have lost their children and loved ones in the Texas school shooting. 

In a tweet, Zelenskyy said he was "deeply saddened by the news of the murder of innocent children in Texas."

As the war in Ukraine raged on, he said the "the people of Ukraine share the pain of the relatives and friends of the victims and all Americans."

Ukraine 'shares the pain of our U.S. friends,' foreign minister says

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.

Fourth grade teacher expected to survive after 'intense surgery'

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.

Mexico offers condolences, consulate assistance after Texas school shooting

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.

Officers were unable to stop gunman, who had body armor, rifle, official says

Morgan Chesky, Ken Dilanian and Tim Stelloh

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.

Gunman bought 2 rifles on 18th birthday, state senator says

Bianca Seward

Andrew Blankstein and Bianca Seward

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?”

NRA convention to be held in Texas days after school shooting

Frank Thorp Vproducer and off-air reporter

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.”

U.S. is 'paralyzed' by gun lobby, Obama says

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"

Uvalde's hometown Tejano music group says it is heartbroken

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."

A second teacher has died in school shooting, official says

Morgan Chesky

Tim Stelloh and Morgan Chesky

A second teacher died in the mass shooting at a Texas elementary school Tuesday that left 20 other people dead, a law enforcement official said.

Nineteen children were also killed in the shooting at Robb Elementary School, Lt. Chris Olivarez of the Texas Department of Public Safety said.

The teacher was not immediately identified.

Another teacher who died in the shooting, Eva Mireles, had taught with the school district for 17 years, her aunt told news outlets.

Teacher who died was 'trying to protect her students,' aunt says

A teacher who died Tuesday was “trying to protect her students” from the gunman who killed 19 people at Robb Elementary School, a relative told The New York Times.

Eva Mireles.
Eva Mireles.Uvalde CISD

Eva Mireles had been with the district for about 17 years, Lydia Martinez Delgado told the newspaper.

Martinez Delgado told The Times that her niece, who was in her early 40s, was married and had a child. She described Mireles as an avid hiker who took pride in teaching students of Latino heritage, The Times reported.

Martinez Delgado told KSAT-TV that she was “furious” over the shooting and others.

“These children are innocent. Rifles should not be easily available to all. This is my hometown — a small community of less than 20,000. I never imagined this would happen ... especially to loved ones.” 

Border Patrol agent wounded by Texas school gunman

At least one Border Patrol agent was wounded in an exchange of gunfire with a gunman who killed at least 19 children at a Texas elementary school Tuesday, an official with the Department of Homeland Security said.

Border Patrol agents responded to Robb Elementary School in Uvalde and were fired upon by the gunman, who was barricaded inside, DHS spokeswoman Marsha Espinosa tweeted.

“Risking their own lives, these Border Patrol Agents and other officers put themselves between the shooter and children on the scene to draw the shooter’s attention away from potential victims and save lives,” she wrote.

“At least one Border Patrol Agent was wounded by the shooter during the exchange of gunfire,” Espinosa said.

Nineteen children and a teacher were killed after the gunman opened fire at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, officials said.

The gunman, 18, is also dead, believed to have been killed by law enforcement officers who confronted him, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said.

DHS did not immediately respond to a request for more details Tuesday night. The agent survived, a DHS spokesperson said.

'It's like a horror movie': Parents, family wait for word about children

UVALDE, Texas — After the shots rang out at Robb Elementary School, parents and family members began frantically searching for the children they hadn’t heard from.

Rosa Arizmendia and Roland Arizmendia knew their daughter was OK but hadn't heard from their niece.

They had last seen her earlier in the day when they picked up their daughter at an awards ceremony at the school. Roland yelled out, “Hi, mija!” to her then.

“It’s like a horror movie,” Rosa Arizmendia said. “If it’s not our kid, it’s someone we know. It’s our neighbors.”

Read the full story here.

Death toll grows to 18 children, 1 adult

The death toll in Tuesday's shooting massacre now stands at 18 children and an adult, according to Texas State Police.

The numbers do not include the suspected gunman, who was also killed.

At least 14 of the victims were taken Uvalde Memorial Hospital, and several more were being treated at University Health in San Antonio.

Uvalde superintendent: We need your prayers to get through this

Grief counselors will be available in Uvalde, Texas, for students, school staff members and others after Tuesday’s deadly shooting at an elementary school, the district superintendent said.

“My heart was broken today,” Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District Superintendent Hal Harrell said Tuesday evening. “We’re a small community, and we’ll need your prayers to get us through this."

The 18-year-old gunman who carried out the shooting at Robb Elementary School is dead, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said. Police responded to the shooting around 11:30 a.m., officials said.

Harrell said that classes and activities are canceled and that the school year is over. Uvalde is a city of around 15,200 around 80 miles west of San Antonio.

Morgan Chesky

Teachers unions call for action on gun safety after Uvalde shooting

Two of the country’s largest teachers unions demanded action Tuesday to address gun violence and firearm safety after a gunman killed at least 14 students and a teacher in Texas.

The National Education Association and the Texas State Teachers Association in a joint statement called on policymakers to do something to keep guns from people who should not have them, whether through enacting new laws or by enforcing existing ones.

“Tragedies like this one keep happening while elected officials do nothing; except, in Texas’ case, make firearms more available. How many more mass shootings need to happen before these lawmakers finally take responsibility and address the gun safety issue?” the two organizations said.

Randi Weingarten, the president of the American Federation of Teachers, also demanded action, citing Tuesday’s shooting as well as the May 14 racist attack at a Buffalo, New York, supermarket, which killed 10 people.

“Gun violence is a cancer, and it’s one that none of us should tolerate for one single moment longer,” she said. “We have made a choice to let this continue, and we can make a choice to finally do something — do anything — to put a stop to this madness.”

CBS pulls ‘FBI’ season finale after Texas school shooting

CBS has pulled the season finale of “FBI” in the wake of Tuesday’s deadly mass shooting because its storyline dealt with a school shooting.

The season four finale, “Prodigal Son,” had been due to air Tuesday night.

The synopsis of the pulled episode reads: “As the team investigates a deadly robbery that garnered a cache of automatic weapons for the killers, they discover one of the perps is a classmate of Jubal’s son, who is reluctant to cooperate with the case.”

CBS will air a rebroadcast of “FBI” instead, the spokesperson said.

Fourteen students and a teacher were killed at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, a town west of San Antonio, on Tuesday. The gunman, 18, is dead, Texas’ governor said.

Texas elementary school shooting echoes the Sandy Hook massacre

The killings at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, a town about 85 miles west of San Antonio, recalls the agony of other tragedies, such as the shootings at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado, in 1999 and Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, in 2018.

But the violence stirs especially painful memories of Dec. 14, 2012, the day 20-year-old Adam Lanza killed 20 children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut.

In an especially grim parallel between the two events, two senior law enforcement officials told NBC News they were investigating whether the Texas suspect shot his grandmother before the incident. Lanza shot and killed his mother before he drove to Sandy Hook.

Sandy Hook Promise, a nonprofit organization founded by the parents of victims, reacted to the Texas news on Twitter: “We are devastated about reports that multiple people are dead, including children.”

Read the full story here.

A look at the students who attend Robb Elementary School

The elementary school where 14 students and a teacher were killed Tuesday is one of four elementary schools in the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District.

The school serves second-, third- and fourth-grade students. Almost 90 percent of Robb Elementary School’s 574 students are Latino, according to its 2021-2022 Campus Improvement Plan, while almost 9 percent are white.

About 87 percent of the students at Robb Elementary are considered economically disadvantaged. The state average is about 60 percent.

Police investigating whether gunman shot grandmother first

Investigators are looking into whether the gunman who killed 14 students and a teacher at a Texas elementary school Tuesday morning shot his grandmother before the attack, officials said.

Two senior law enforcement officials briefed on the shooting in Uvalde said law enforcement was investigating whether the grandmother was shot.

The gunman, 18, is dead, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said. He has been identified as Salvador Rolando Ramos, 18. He lived in Uvalde, about 80 miles west of San Antonio, Abbott said.

Biden orders flags lowered to half-staff

President Joe Biden ordered flags lowered to half-staff as a mark of respect for the victims of Tuesday’s mass shooting at a Texas elementary school.

Fourteen students and a teacher were killed in what Biden called “senseless acts of violence” carried out by a gunman at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde. The gunman, 18, is also dead, Texas’ governor said.

Flags will be lowered to half-staff at the White House, at all public buildings, at military installations and naval ships, and at embassies and other facilities until sunset Saturday.

Texas shooting is 51st school shooting in U.S. since 2013

NBC News

Tuesday’s mass shooting at a Texas elementary school was at least the 51st deadly school shooting in the U.S. since 2013, according to tracking by NBC News.

A total of 88 people have been killed in those shootings, including the 14 students and one teacher who the governor said were killed Tuesday at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde.

The deaths do not include the gunman in Tuesday’s mass shooting. The gunman, 18, was killed by law enforcement officers, Gov. Greg Abbott said.

NBC News is tracking school shootings as part of an effort to provide more consistent information. There can be differing definitions of school shootings. It is the fourth school shooting in the U.S. this year, according to NBC News tracker.

Read more here.

Biden to make remarks on deadly shooting Tuesday evening

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden plans to make remarks on the Texas elementary school shooting that left 14 students and one teacher dead when he returns to the White House on Tuesday evening from his trip to Asia.

Biden was briefed on the shooting aboard Air Force One, the White House said.

“President Biden has been briefed on the horrific news of the elementary school shooting in Texas and will continue to be briefed regularly as information becomes available,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a tweet. “His prayers are with the families impacted by this awful event, and he will speak this evening when he arrives back at the White House.”

MAP: The city of Uvalde is about 83 miles west of San Antonio

14 students dead in mass shooting at Texas school, governor says

Fourteen children were killed Tuesday in a shooting at their elementary school, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said.

A teacher was also killed. The suspected gunman, believed to be 18 years old, is also dead, Abbott said.

Abbott called the shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, about 83 miles west of San Antonio, horrific and incomprehensible.

Abbott said the gunman, a resident of Uvalde, is believed to have entered the school with a handgun and possibly a rifle.

Suspected shooter identified

The suspected shooter was identified as Salvador Ramos, 18, multiple senior law enforcement sources said.

“The investigation is leading to tell us the suspect did act alone during this heinous crime,” Pete Arredondo, the chief of police for the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District, said at a news conference.

WH press secretary says Biden has been briefed