Gunman posted images of guns just days ago on social media
01:15 - Source: CNN
Editor’s Note: Updates on this report can be found here.
CNN —
An 18-year-old gunman on Tuesday fatally shot 19 children and two adults at a Texas elementary school before he was killed by law enforcement officers, officials said.
The shooter – identified by Texas officials as Salvador Ramos, of Uvalde – also shot his grandmother before crashing a vehicle near the school, Texas Department of Public Safety Sgt. Erick Estrada said. She is in critical condition, he said.
The gunman is believed to have acted alone, Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District Police Chief Pete Arredondo said.
LIVE UPDATES ON THE SHOOTING
Here are the latest developments in Tuesday’s tragedy:
• Estrada told CNN’s Anderson Cooper the gunman wrecked a vehicle while driving near the school after shooting his grandmother. “The suspect did crash near a ditch nearby the school. That’s where he exited his vehicle with what I believe was a rifle and that’s when he attempted to enter the school where he was engaged by law enforcement.”
• The gunman had body armor, the rifle and a backpack, Estrada said. The shooter made it into several classrooms, Estrada added.
The area around the Robb Elementary School signs has become a memorial dedicated to the victims of the May 24 mass shooting.
Celia Correa Sauceda, right, hugs her friend Stacey Mazuca after they and other mariachi musicians from San Antonio performed during a memorial in Uvalde on Wednesday, June 1. Sauceda, who plays violin, is an elementary teacher in San Antonio. She said she was in Uvalde to be a voice. "We cannot forget what happened, and it needs to stop," Sauceda said.
Mateo López sings during a mariachi performance at a Uvalde memorial on June 1.
Pallbearers carry Amerie Jo Garza's casket into the Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Uvalde on Tuesday, May 31.
Jose Mata, brother of shooting victim Xavier Lopez, carries a wooden cross decorated with a baseball bat to place it at Xavier's memorial outside his home in Uvalde on May 31.
President Joe Biden looks back at the crowd gathered outside of the Sacred Heart Catholic Church after attending Mass in Uvalde on Sunday, May 29. People in the crowd shouted, "Do something!" And as Biden looked back at them he said, "We will."
A cutout photograph of one of the victims is taken onto school grounds Saturday, May 28, in preparation for Biden's visit the next day.
Mourners gather in the main plaza in Uvalde on May 28.
A choir from The Light of the World Church sings songs in Uvalde on Friday, May 27, to support families who lost loved ones in the shooting.
The Light of the World Church offers prayers for the families impacted by the shooting.
Vanessa Palacios, left, and Melissa García write the victims' names on their storefront, Cut Loose Hair Emporium, on May 27.
Steven McCraw, the director of the Texas Department of Public Safety, points to a map of the shooter's movements during a news conference on May 27. In all, 80 minutes passed between when officers were first called to the school at 11:30 a.m. to when a tactical team entered locked classrooms and killed the gunman at 12:50 p.m., McCraw said.
The friends and family of Maranda Mathis, one of the young victims of the school shooting, grieve her loss in front of a cross bearing her name on May 26. "These children should be remembered for all the right reasons," a family member said.
Tyler Garcia raises up a sign that says "#UvaldeStrong" during a car wash and food sale that was raising money for the families of those who lost loved ones in the shooting.
Congregants at St. Philip's Episcopal Church light candles in Uvalde to remember the shooting victims on May 26.
Copies of the Uvalde Leader-News sit on stands at a market on May 26.
Crosses bear the names of shooting victims on May 26.
People in Uvalde light candles during a memorial for the shooting victims on May 25.
A prayer vigil is held in Uvalde on May 25.
An officer with the Texas Highway Patrol prays with a community member before taking his flowers to the growing memorial in front of Robb Elementary School.
From left, Michael Cavasos, Brenda Perez and Eduardo Galindo are seen in the foreground as they wait in line to donate blood in Uvalde on May 25. Galindo, who lives in Uvalde, said: "When it hits you in your hometown, you wake up and say, 'Wow.' ... We have to be here and show support for these families right now." Approximately 200 people donated blood to South Texas Blood and Tissue, who would be delivering the units to surrounding area hospitals.
People attend Mass at the Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Uvalde on May 25.
Flowers are seen at the memorial in front of the school.
Texas gubernatorial nominee Beto O'Rourke, bottom right, confronted Gov. Greg Abbott and other officials during a news conference about the shooting on May 25. "The time to stop the next shooting is right now and you are doing nothing," O'Rourke told Abbott. The two will face off in November's election.
Law enforcement vehicles are lined up outside the school on May 25.
People pray outside the SSGT Willie de Leon Civic Center in Uvalde on May 24. The civic center is where students were transported after the shooting.
Kladys Castellón prays during a vigil that was held in Uvalde on May 24.
Law enforcement officials work the scene after the shooting on May 24.
People comfort each other outside the civic center in Uvalde.
Students run to safety after law enforcement officers helped them escape from a window at the school.
Law enforcement personnel run near the scene of the shooting on May 24. US Customs and Border Protection, which is the largest law enforcement agency in the area, assisted with the response.
People react outside the Uvalde civic center on May 24.
A Texas state trooper walks outside the school on May 24.
A woman reacts outside of the civic center in Uvalde.
A child gets on a school bus under the watch of law enforcement on May 24. Robb Elementary teaches second through fourth grades and had 535 students in the 2020-21 school year, according to state data. About 90% of students are Hispanic and about 81% are economically disadvantaged, the data shows.
People react outside the civic center in Uvalde. This marks at least the 30th shooting at a K-12 school in 2022.
Law enforcement officials and other first responders gather outside the school following the shooting.
A woman cries and hugs a young girl while on the phone outside the civic center in Uvalde.
Another child gets on a bus to leave the school.
A woman cries as she leaves the civic center.
Law enforcement officials stand outside the school following the shooting. The FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives have been assisting local police with the investigation.
People sit on the curb outside of the school as state troopers guard the area on May 24.
Police walk near the school following the shooting.
A woman and a child leave the Uvalde civic center on May 24.
In pictures: Mass shooting at Texas elementary school
• US Customs and Border Protection, which is the largest law enforcement agency in the area due Uvalde’s proximity to Mexico, had more than 20 agents respond to the shooting, according to a law enforcement official. A CBP agent was shot in the head, but is in stable condition after the bullet did not penetrate, the official said.
• Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman Marsha Espinosa tweeted agents and other law enforcement officers took fire from the shooter, who had barricaded himself. “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.
• President Joe Biden has ordered US flags on federal grounds to be flown at half-staff until sunset on Saturday to honor the victims of this “senseless acts of violence.”
• Uvalde Memorial Hospital spokesperson Tom Nordwick earlier said 13 children and a man in his 40s were being treated for injuries. University Hospital in San Antonio said in a tweet they received a child and an adult from the school shooting. The adult, a 66-year-old woman, is in critical condition, the hospital said in a tweet.
• The FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) are assisting local and state authorities with the investigation.
30th shooting at a K-12 school this year
Tuesday’s incident marks at least the 30th shooting at a K-12 school in 2022. So far in 2022 there have been at least 39 shootings in K-12 schools, colleges and universities, resulting in at least 10 deaths and 51 injuries.
It is the deadliest shooting at a school since the Sandy Hook massacre in Connecticut in 2012 that left 26 people dead, including 20 children between 6 and 7 years old.
Biden calls for lawmakers to have a backbone
President Biden addressed the shooting in emotional remarks from the White House Tuesday evening, saying, “I had hoped when I became President I would not have to do this again.”
Texas AG puts out statement after elementary school shooting
03:28 - Source: CNN
“There’s a lot we don’t know yet. There’s a lot we do know. Parents who will never see their child again, never have them jump in bed and cuddle with them. Parents who will never be the same. To lose a child is like having a piece of your soul ripped away,” said Biden, who has before spoken in deeply personal terms about the family tragedies he has endured.
Turning to the issue of gun control legislation, Biden implored lawmakers to “turn this pain into action” as he ticked through some of the mass shootings since the 2012 massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, when he was vice president.
“Why do we keep letting this happen? Where in God’s name our is backbone to have the courage to deal with and stand up to the lobbies?” he said.
School was two days from summer break
Robb Elementary teaches second through fourth grades and had 535 students in the 2020-21 school year, according to state data. About 90% of students are Hispanic and about 81% are economically disadvantaged, the data shows. Thursday was set to be the last day of school before the summer break.
The school district said it is canceling all school activities following the shooting.
Uvalde County, located about 85 miles west of San Antonio, had a population of about 25,000 as of the 2020 Census.
CNN’s Christina Maxouris, Paul LeBlanc, Evan Perez, Shimon Prokupecz, Joe Sutton, Jennifer Henderson, Jamiel Lynch, Priscilla Alvarez and Joseph Bonheim contributed to this report.