What happened in a school shooting in Texas that killed at least 19 children and 2 adults

Uvalde police have been criticized for taking so long to enter Robb Elementary School to stop active gunman Salvador Ramos.

Ramos was inside the building for more than an hour, killing at least 19 children and two adults in the deadliest shooting at a US elementary school since the infamous Sandy Hook attack in 2012.

That’s all we know about what happened.

At approximately 11:30 a.m., an 18-year-old gunman identified as Salvador Ramos opened fire at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, a predominantly Hispanic community.

Texas State Senator Roland Gutierrez told reporters that Ramos shot and killed his grandmother at her home that morning. She is believed to be in critical condition in hospital.

He fled the scene in his car before wrecking his vehicle in front of the school. Then he ran in and started shooting.

Christopher Olivarez of the Texas Department of Public Safety told CNN that all of those killed were in the same fourth-grade classroom.

The killer “barricaded himself by locking the door and just started shooting kids and teachers who were in that classroom,” Olivarez said. “It just shows you the full evil of Sagittarius.”

Erick Estrada of the Texas Department of Public Safety told CNN Ramos took to social media to warn of an impending attack.

According to Estrada, that is “first thing [Ramos] bought two military-style rifles for his 18th birthday.

Pete Arredondo, chief of the Uvalde School District’s consolidated independent police agency, said it appeared Ramos acted alone at a brief news conference Tuesday afternoon.

About 30 minutes before the bloodbath, Ramos made three social media posts, Gov. Gregg Abbot said.

According to the governor, Ramos posted that he was going to shoot his grandmother, then that he shot the woman, and finally that he was going to shoot an elementary school.

“Evil befell Uvalde yesterday. Anyone who shoots their grandmother in the face must have evil in their hearts,” Mr Abbott said at a news conference.

“But it’s much worse when someone shoots small children. It is intolerable and unacceptable for us to have someone in the state who would kill young children in our schools.”

According to the authorities, the death toll from the shooting at the school is currently 19 children and two adults.

The latest numbers come from Travis Considine, a spokesman for the Texas Department of Public Safety. The shooter also died – it is believed he was killed by police officers.

One of the adults killed has been confirmed to be Eva Mireles, a fourth grade teacher.

In a statement reported by ABC News, Eva’s aunt said: “I am furious that these shootings are continuing. These children are innocent. Guns should not be readily available to everyone.”

Some of the names of the children killed in the attack have gradually emerged. As the Washington Post reports, 10-year-old Jose Flores was one of the victims. His uncle, Christopher Salazar, told the outlet, “He was a very happy little boy. He loved both of his parents… and loved to laugh and have fun.”

The Associated Press has confirmed that eight-year-old Uziyah Garcia and 10-year-old Xavier Javier Lopez were killed. According to ABC News, Amerie Jo Garza, also 10, was also identified by her family as one of the victims.

The shooting is the deadliest at a US elementary school since a gunman killed 20 children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Connecticut, nearly a decade ago.

Following the attack, US President Joe Biden addressed the country Tuesday night after returning to the White House after a five-day trip to Asia.

He said: “I was hoping when I became president that I wouldn’t have to do that again.

“Another massacre. Uvalde, Texas. A primary school. Beautiful, innocent second, third, fourth graders. And like many dozens of little kids who witnessed what happened, watch their friends die like they were on a battlefield, for God’s sake. You will live with it for the rest of your life.

“There’s a lot we don’t know yet, but there’s a lot we do know.

“There are parents who will never see their child again, they will never jump into bed and cuddle with them. Parents who will never be the same.”

In his speech, Biden referenced the Sandy Hook attack, in which he said, “It’s been 3,448 days — 10 years since I got up at a Connecticut high school — a Connecticut elementary school where another gunman killed 26 people massacred. including 20 first graders, at Sandy Hook Elementary School.

“Since then, over 900 incidents of gunshots have been reported on school grounds.

“Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla. Santa Fe High School in Texas. Oxford High School in Michigan. The list goes on.”

Calling for the implementation of “sound gun laws,” Biden said, “I’ve spent my career as a senator and as a vice president passing sound gun laws.

“We cannot and will not prevent every tragedy. But we know that they work and have a positive impact. When we passed the assault weapons ban, mass shootings went down. When the law expired, mass shootings tripled.

“The idea that an 18-year-old boy can walk into a gun store and buy two assault weapons is just wrong.

“What in God’s name would you need an offensive weapon for, other than to kill someone?

“Deer don’t run through the woods in Kevlar vests, for heaven’s sake. It’s just sick.”

Biden asked, “When in God’s name are we going to take a stand against the gun lobby? Why are we willing to live with this carnage? Why do we keep letting this happen?”

He ended his speech by saying, “Our prayer tonight is for those parents who are lying in bed trying to figure out, ‘Will I be able to sleep again? What do I tell my other children? What happens tomorrow?”

“May God bless the loss of innocent life on this sad day. And may the Lord be near to the broken hearts and save the bruised souls, for they will need much help and many of our prayers.

Uvalde Police have been heavily criticized for the delay in responding to the shooting. According to a police officer, Salvador entered unhindered through what appeared to be an unlocked door and stayed inside the school building for more than an hour before he was killed by authorities.

Nearly 20 officers stood in a hallway outside classrooms for more than 45 minutes during this week’s attack on a Texas elementary school before agents used a master key to open a door and confront a gunman, authorities said on Friday.

The elapsed time has sparked anger and questions from family members, who want to know why they didn’t storm the place and end the killing spree sooner.

“They say they stormed in,” said Javier Cazares, whose daughter Jacklyn Cazares was killed in the attack and who ran to the school as the massacre unfolded. “We didn’t see that.”

Texas Department of Public Safety spokesman Travis Considine said Ramos entered Robb Elementary School and began his killing spree at 11:40 a.m. Tuesday.

An hour later, a Border Patrol tactical unit attempted to get in and at 12:58 p.m. the teenager was confirmed dead.

The school normally has an armed school safety officer, but when Ramos arrived Tuesday, “there were no armed officers immediately available” and the shooter “entered the building unhindered,” Victor Escalon, a regional director with the Texas Department of Public Safety, said.

According to witnesses, frustrated onlookers during the siege prompted police officers to rush into the school.

“Get in there! Get in there!” Women shouted at officers shortly after the attack began, said Juan Carranza, 24, who watched the scene from outside a house across the street.

Mr Carranza said officers should have entered the school earlier, adding: “There were more of them. There was only one of him.”

Abbott said on Friday that he had been “misled” by the police response to the Uvalde primary school shooting and that he was “angry”.

The governor said at a news conference that in his previous statements he repeated what he had been told.

“The information I received turned out to be partially inaccurate,” he said.

Abbott said exactly what happened needed to be “thoroughly and exhaustively” investigated.

Chilling details have emerged from survivors’ experiences, with one telling CNN covering herself in her friend’s blood and pretending to be dead while waiting for help to arrive.

Miah Cerrillo, 11, told CNN that she and a friend called 911 from her dead teacher’s phone on Tuesday and waited what seemed to her three hours for officers to arrive at the elementary school.

Miah said after the shooter moved from one room to the adjacent one, she heard screams and many more gunshots, and the shooter then started belting out music.

Samuel Salinas, 10, told ABC’s Good Morning America that he and other classmates pretended to be dead after Ramos opened fire on the class. Samuel was hit in the thigh by shrapnel.

“He shot the teacher and then the kids,” said Samuel, who was in Irma Garcia’s class.

Gemma Lopez, 10, was in a classroom down the hall when Ramos entered the building.

She told Good Morning America that a bullet went through her classroom wall before a lockdown was declared.

Her best friend, Amerie Garza, died in the killing spree.