It is the early hours of Thursday morning in Uvalde, where residents are still reeling after Tuesday’s school shooting.
Here are the latest developments and what we know so far:
The young victims have now been identified.A law enforcement official said all victims were inthe same fourth-grade classroom at the Robb Elementary School.
The 18-year-old gunman charged into one classroom where he barricaded himself by locking the door, forcing a staff member to open the room with a key after Border Patrol agents struggled to breach the classroom door, a law enforcement official familiar with the investigation told the Associated Press. Earlier, Lt. Christopher Olivarez of the Department of Public Safety told CNN the gunman “barricaded himself by locking the door and just started shooting children and teachers that were inside that classroom”.
About “40 minutes or so” elapsed from when the gunman opened fire on the school security officer and when the Border Patrol team shot him, Department of Public Safety Director Steve McCraw said.
Onlookers reportedly urged police officers to charge into the school.Juan Carranza, 24, who saw the scene unfold from outside his house across the street, told the Associated Press he felt arriving officers should have entered the school sooner. Javier Cazares, whose daughter, Jacklyn Cazares, was killed in the attack, said he raced to the school and arrived while police were still massed outside the building. “Let’s just rush in because the cops aren’t doing anything like they are supposed to,” he recalled. “More could have been done.”
However, US Border Patrol chief Raul Ortiz said agents “didn’t hesitate” when responding to the shooting. “They didn’t hesitate. They came up with a plan. They entered that classroom and they took care of the situation as quickly as they possibly could,” he told CNN’s Anderson Cooper.
More than 100 federal officers responded to Uvalde school shooting, Ortiz added. “When it was all said and done, we had over 80 officers immediately on the scene, and then right after that, 150 or so officers converged on this area,” he told CNN. Those officers came from several divisions, including the Border Patrol, Air and Marine Operations and Homeland Security Investigations.
Before attacking the school, the gunman shot and wounded his grandmother at her home. Neighbours called police when she staggered outside and they saw she had been shot in the face, Texas Department of Public Safety spokesperson Travis Considine said.
The gunman sent three online messagesin the half-hour before the mass shooting, according to the governor of Texas, Greg Abbot. In the first message, he wrote that he was going to shoot his grandmother. The second message reportedly confirmed that he had shot her and in the last note, sent about 15 minutes before he reached Robb Elementary, he said he was going to shoot up an elementary school.
The private, one-to-one messages were sent via Facebook, and were “discovered after the terrible tragedy,” company spokesman Andy Stone said. He said Facebook is cooperating with investigators.
The gunman had legally bought the rifle and a second one like it last week, just after his birthday, authorities said.
Investigators have so far shed no light on the motive for the attack.
Community members attended a prayer vigil Wednesday evening at the Uvalde County Fairplex Arena.
The National Rifle Association released a statement describing the shooting as “the act of a lone, deranged criminal” and pledged to “redouble our commitment to make our schools secure”. The group will gather in Houston for its first annual meeting in three years this weekend.
US president Joe Biden said he is “sick and tired” of continued mass shootings in the US and access to military-style weapons for youth. “When in God’s name will we do what needs to be done to, not completely stop, but fundamentally change the amount of carnage that goes on in this country.” he said. “To state the obvious, I’m sick and tired, I’m just sick and tired of what is going on, what continues to go on.”
Thank you for joining us for today’s live coverage.
Hundreds of people gathered at a vigil held on Wednesday night at the Uvalde County Fairplex, a community arena, for the victims of the school shooting.
“Amazing Grace” was played during the vigil as members of the community wept and hugged.
People mourn during a community gathering at the Uvadle County Fairplex. Photograph: Tannen Maury/EPA
Families stand together at a vigil for the victims in the mass shooting at Rob Elementary School. Photograph: Brandon Bell/Getty Images
Uvalde County Sheriff Ruben Nolasco hugs Texas Governor Greg Abbott as they attend a vigil for the victims. Photograph: Chandan Khanna/AFP/Getty Images
A woman clutches a piece of paper in anguish. Photograph: Marco Bello/Reuters
The nearby Donna Independent School District has just released a statement saying it has “received a credible threat of violence that is currently under investigation.”
“In light of recent events and in an abundance of caution, we will be be canceling school district-wide and staff will work from home,” the statement reads.
The town of Donna is about 300miles south-east of Uvalde.
Actor Matthew McConaughey, who was born in Uvalde, Texas, has called on Americans to act now to control an “epidemic” of mass shootings.
“Once again, we have tragically proven that we are failing to be responsible for the rights our freedoms grant us,” McConaughey posted on his Instagram account. “We cannot exhale once again, make excuses, and accept these tragic realities as the status quo.”
The actor did not describe any specific laws or policies he wants adopted and did not mention gun control.
As Americans, Texans, mothers and fathers, it’s time we re-evaluate,” he wrote.
We have to rearrange our values and find a common ground.
This is an epidemic we can control, and whichever side of the aisle we may stand on, we all know we can do better.”
The US State Department has said the school shooting in Texas and other mass casualty incidents are hurting America’s reputation abroad.
Spokesman Ned Price said Wednesday incidents like these not only cause damage to the US global reputation but also upset and confuse friends and allies who don’t understand how they can continue to happen.
The fact is that what happens in this country is magnified on the world stage,” Price told reporters.
And countries around the world, people around the world, are going to fixate on what transpires here — oftentimes out of envy, but again that’s when we’re at our best.”
Price said the shootings “will have implications for our standing” and the US diplomats posted around the world are “very mindful of that.”
Agents “didn’t hesitate” when responding to the shooting, US Border Patrol chief Raul Ortiz has said.
Ortiz said dozens of on-duty and off-duty agents responded to the shooting in Uvalde, Texas, on Tuesday, adding that as soon as officers arrived, “they didn’t hesitate.”
“We responded from various locations. I had both on-duty, off-duty, folks that were in a training environment all responded to this location,” Ortiz said, adding between 80-100 officers responded.
They didn’t hesitate. They came up with a plan. They entered that classroom and they took care of the situation as quickly as they possibly could,” Ortiz told CNN’s Anderson Cooper.
Among those who responded were members of the Border Patrol Tactical Unit, or BORTAC, which is a specialised unit made up of highly trained officers that respond to “emergent and high-risk incidents,” according to the agency.
“Nothing prepares you for a scene like they saw and witnessed yesterday,” Ortiz added.
The name of another young victim has just been confirmed after family members spoke to the Washington Post.
Tess Marie Mata, 10, was also shot inside the Robb elementary school on Tuesday.
Her sister, Faith Mata, a college student at Texas State University, told the Post that Tess, a fourth-grader, loved TikTok dances, Ariana Grande and the Houston Astros.
The 10-year-old was currently saving money so that the whole family could go to Disney World, Mata said.
“My precious angel you are loved so deeply. In my eyes you are not a victim but a survivor. I love you always and past forever baby sister, may your wings soar higher then you could ever dream,” Mata posted on Twitter.
My precious angel you are loved so deeply. In my eyes you are not a victim but a survivor. I love you always and past forever baby sister, may your wings soar higher then you could ever dream. Till we meet again Tess Marie, love your big sissy🤍 pic.twitter.com/ziEAe6bsFE
Gunman barricaded himself in classroom and locked the door, forcing officials to use key
We are receiving a little more information on what occurred when the gunman entered the Robb elementary school on Tuesday.
After entering the building, the 18-year-old is believed to have charged into one classroom where he “barricaded himself by locking the door” , a law enforcement official has said.
[He] barricaded himself by locking the door and just started shooting children and teachers that were inside that classroom,” Lt. Christopher Olivarez of the Department of Public Safety told CNN.
A law enforcement official familiar with the investigation told the Associated Press that Border Patrol agents had trouble breaching the classroom door and had to get a staff member to open the room with a key. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak publicly about the ongoing investigation.
Department of Public Safety Director Steve McCraw said “40 minutes or so” elapsed from when Ramos opened fire on the school security officer and when the SWAT-like Border Patrol team shot him.
All those killed were in the same classroom, Lt. Christopher Olivarez added.
Onlookers urged police to charge into the school - reports
Onlookers reportedly urged police officers to charge into the Robb elementary school where a gunman’s rampage killed 19 children and two teachers, a witness has told the Associated Press.
Investigators worked to track the massacre that lasted upwards of 40 minutes and ended when the 18-year-old shooter was killed by a Border Patrol team.
“Go in there! Go in there!” nearby women shouted at the officers soon after the attack began, said Juan Carranza, 24, who saw the scene from outside his house, across the street from Robb Elementary School in the town of Uvalde. Carranza said the officers did not go in.
Carranza told the news agency he felt the officers should have entered the school sooner.
“There were more of them, there was just one of him,” he added.
Javier Cazares, whose fourth grade daughter, Jacklyn Cazares, was killed in the attack, said he raced to the school when he heard about the shooting, arriving while police were still massed outside the building.
Upset that police were not moving in, he raised the idea of charging into the school with several other bystanders.
Let’s just rush in because the cops aren’t doing anything like they are supposed to,” he said.
More could have been done ... They were unprepared.”
A student has been arrested by police in Richardson, Texas, responding to reports of a male approaching a high school with a firearm on Wednesday morning.
Officers were sent to Berkner High School and found the suspect inside the school but unarmed.
They later found “what appeared to be an AK-47 style pistol and a replica AR-15 style Orbeez rifle” in the suspect’s vehicle.
The suspect was arrested and charged with unlawfully carrying weapons in a school zone.
The school is 350 miles (560km) away from Uvalde, where Tuesday’s mass shooting happened.
There is no indication of any connection between the two incidents.
Gunman was inside school for roughly 40 minutes before he was killed, official says
The gunman was inside the school for roughly 40 minutes or possibly longer before he was killed, the Texas department of public safety director, Steven McCraw told CNN at a news briefing, though there are several unanswered questions about the timeline and sequence of events.
McCraw said, “I don’t want to give you a particular timeline. But the bottom line is that law enforcement was there. They did engage immediately. They did contain him in the classroom.” He said the gunman was killed “within, like, 40 minutes, [within] an hour”, CNN reported.
There have been conflicting reports about what happened before the 18-year-old shooter entered the building and how law enforcement outside tried to “engage” and stop him. One Texas public safety spokesperson initially told the AP that the gunman exchanged fire with a school officer and fired on two officers outside, but later said it was unclear whether the officers had fired at the gunman. An official earlier also told the New York Times that there was an exchange of fire.
A law enforcement official familiar with the investigation also told the AP that Border Patrol officers had difficulty breaching the classroom door and needed to get a staff member to open the room with a key. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly.
More victims’ families are speaking out about the losses of their loved ones in the Robb elementary school massacre.
Relatives of 10-year-old Eliahana Cruz Torres confirmed her death, with her grandfather telling ABC News “she was a beautiful young girl with a lot of energy”. Eliahna’s aunt, Siria Arizmendi, a fifth-grade teacher at Flores elementary school in the same district, told the AP: “She was very happy and very outgoing. She loved to dance and play sports. She was big into family, enjoyed being with the family.”
Jailah Nicole Silguero’s mother confirmed her daughter’s death in a Facebook post, writing, “Why why why my baby … Fly high baby grandma n grandpa are with their arms wide open for baby … We’re going to miss you so much my wera Chula my lil side kick,” referring to her daughter as a “pretty blondie” in Spanish.
Jailah Nicole Silguero Photograph: Family photo
The mother of Xavier Lopez, 10, told the Washington Post that she watched him receive an honor roll certificate just hours before the killing. “He was funny, never serious and his smile,” Felicha Martinez said. “That smile I will never forget. It would always cheer anyone up.”
A Robb elementary fourth grader who was not shot during the massacre expressed disbelief about why the school was attacked, her aunt told the AP.
Lorena Auguste was substitute teaching at Uvalde High School when she heard about the shooting. She began frantically texting her niece, a fourth-grader at Robb Elementary, until Auguste heard from her sister that the child was OK.
Auguste said her niece asked her that night, “Tia, why did they do this to us? We’re good kids, we didn’t do anything wrong.”
The gunman dropped a bag of ammunition outside the school before he entered, Sgt Erick Estrada of the Texas department of public safety told CNN. The 18-year-old shooter dropped the bag after a school resource officer outside “engaged” him, Estrada said, according to CNN.
Inside that bag was actually more ammunition. He actually dropped that ammunition and ran inside the school where he barricaded himself inside one of the classrooms and unfortunately, that is where he started conducting his business of shooting innocent children, shooting the two innocent adults that were inside that classroom.”
Some Republicans in Texas and across the country have responded to the tragedy by arguing that schools need armed teachers and more officers. But there have been multiple high-profile shootings in which armed individuals failed to prevent the carnage, including the 2018 massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas high school in Parkland, Florida. A 2019 report from the Trace news site noted that armed guards also failed to stop shooters in a Kentucky high school, a Maryland high school, and Santa Fe, Texas, high school.
Officials have said that two Uvalde police officers and a school resource officer fired at the gunman, but were unable to stop him from entering the building where he killed 19 children and two adults.
Most Americans support stronger gun laws, poll finds
Most US residents support stronger gun laws, but are not confident that lawmakers will take action in the wake of the Texas tragedy, Reuters reports.
A Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted after the Texas school massacre found that:
Out of 940 respondents, 84% said they supported background checks for all firearm sales.
Seventy percent said they backed “red flag” laws, which allow authorities to confiscate guns from people considered a threat.
Seventy-two percent said they would support raising the minimum age to purchase a gun from 18 to 21.
Most said they do not believe Congress will act, with only 35% saying they were “confident that US lawmakers would strengthen gun laws this year”, compared to 49% who said they were not confident.
The Uvalde tragedy was the deadliest school shooting in Texas history and the worst in the US since the Sandy Hook elementary school massacre in 2012. After that mass shooting in Connecticut left 20 children dead, there was a push to pass meaningful gun safety reform, but it ultimately fell apart in the Republican-controlled Senate.
