SCHOOL SHOOTING. The screenshot taken from the live streaming of CBS News shows staff members and vehicles in front of the Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, where a gunman killed 21 people, including 18 children and a teacher, on Tuesday (May 24, 2022). US President Joe Biden has ordered that the flags at the White House, federal buildings, and military posts be flown at half-staff as a mark of respect for the victims. (Xinhua)
HOUSTON – The death toll from an elementary school shooting in the US state of Texas has risen to 21, including 18 children, a state senator said Tuesday, citing the Texas Department of Public Safety.
An 18-year-old man opened fire at the school in Uvalde city on Tuesday afternoon, Texas Governor Greg Abbott told a news conference.
Abbott earlier said the assailant abandoned his vehicle and entered the school with a handgun and possibly a rifle, adding that "he shot and killed horrifically, incomprehensibly, 14 students and killed a teacher."
Police are believed to have killed the gunman, who was identified by law enforcement sources as Salvador Ramos, ABC reported.
Two children who were shot had died by the time rescuers arrived at the Uvalde Memorial Hospital, Adam Apolinar, the hospital's chief operating officer, was quoted by The New York Times as saying earlier in the afternoon.
The University Hospital in San Antonio received two patients from the shooting, tweeting that the patients, one child and one adult, "are currently being evaluated so we don't have a condition to release at this time."
The Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District in Texas said it is cancelling all school activities after the shooting at the Robb Elementary School.
"All district and campus activities, after-school programs, and events are canceled," it tweeted.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) is assisting local police with the investigation into the shooting.
"Special Agents from our Houston Field Division have responded to assist the Uvalde Police Department (UPD) in their investigation," ATF spokesperson Erik Longnecker told CNN.
US President Joe Biden has been briefed on the horrific news of the shooting, according to the White House.
Biden has ordered that the flags at the White House, federal buildings, and military posts be flown at half-staff as a mark of respect for the victims of the senseless acts of violence. (Xinhua)
