After a gunman opened fireplace in a Uvalde, Texas, elementary school on Tuesday, particulars started to emerge concerning the horror that unfolded.
The rampage — the deadliest school shooting in Texas historical past — left 19 college students and two lecturers lifeless after an 18-year-old man barricaded himself inside their classroom.
Law enforcement officers finally pressured entry into the classroom, and police killed the shooter.
“It’s a small classroom, you can have anywhere from 25 to 30 students in there, plus there were two teachers in there … a typical classroom setting, where you have mass groups of children inside that classroom all together, with nowhere to go,” Lt. Chris Olivarez, spokesperson for the Texas Department for Public Safety, mentioned in a televised interview.
We additionally know now that the gunman legally bought two AR rifles within the final two weeks, in accordance with a briefing by state and federal officers offered to Texas officers.
As the hours handed, extra victims had been recognized, and the group realized extra concerning the lives misplaced Tuesday.
Follow alongside for dwell updates from the Uvalde, Texas school shooting and its aftermath Thursday. This story shall be up to date all through the day.
Abbott cancels NRA look, will ship video remarks
Abbott will seem on the conference by way of a video recording, his spokeswoman Renae Eze mentioned. He had been scheduled to handle a management discussion board sponsored by the NRA’s lobbying arm.
Earlier this week, the NRA recommitted to holding its annual conference over the weekend after a gunman entered Robb Elementary School and killed 21 individuals, the deadliest school shooting within the United States in a decade.
Former President Donald Trump mentioned Wednesday that he’ll attend the conference as deliberate.
Rather than cowl recreation, baseball groups tweet gun violence information
As two Major League Baseball groups confronted off Thursday evening, the official Twitter accounts for the groups shared info about gun violence somewhat than posting updates concerning the recreation.
“In lieu of game coverage and in collaboration with the Tampa Bay Rays, we will be using our channels to offer facts about the impacts of gun violence,” the New York Yankees tweeted. “The devastating events that have taken place in Uvalde, Buffalo and countless other communities across our nation are tragedies that are intolerable.”
The Tampa Bay Rays tweeted the identical assertion.
Along with citations, the groups tweeted that, “every day, more than 110 Americans are killed with guns, and more than 200 are shot and injured,” in addition to that “firearms were the leading cause of death for American child and teens in 2020.”
Other MLB groups’ Twitter accounts nonetheless lined their video games Thursday.
The Rays made a $50,000 dedication to Everytown for Gun Safety, one of many largest gun violence prevention organizations in America.
“This cannot become normal,” the Rays tweeted. “We cannot become numb. We cannot look the other way. We all know, if nothing changes, nothing changes.”
David Hogg, a founding father of the student-led March For Our Lives which helps gun management laws, shared the Yankees’ tweet Thursday evening.
“I’m telling you,” Hogg tweeted, “this time is going to be different.”
Father says dad and mom pleaded for police to confront gunman
Javier Cazares, the daddy of 9-year-old Jackie, who was among the many 19 college students killed within the Uvalde school shooting, informed the American-Statesman that he rushed to the school after listening to concerning the shooting, arriving about midday Tuesday.
He mentioned a number of dad and mom had been yelling for officers to enter the constructing to confront the gunman and when the officers didn’t, the dad and mom threatened to enter themselves.
He mentioned it appeared that no police had been contained in the constructing through the time he was ready exterior.
The account echoes a number of others which have emerged from dad and mom and different bystanders exterior the school.
Victor Escalon, a regional director on the Texas Department of Public Safety, mentioned Thursday that the gunman was contained in the school for about an hour earlier than he was shot and killed by a Border Patrol agent.
Escalon, talking at a press convention, didn’t reply questions on why Uvalde police didn’t cease the shooter. Instead, he mentioned they had been evacuating college students and workers from different lecture rooms.
He mentioned investigators are nonetheless piecing collectively precisely what transpired.
Cazares mentioned he has not spoken with investigators however {that a} federal agent stopped by his house when he was not there.
“You’re angry. You’re sad. You’re all over the place,” he mentioned.
His niece, Annabelle Rodriguez, additionally was killed.
— Staff author Ryan Autullo
DPS: Gunman was killed about an hour after getting into school
Victor Escalon, South Texas Regional Director for the Department of Public Safety, mentioned the gunman who fired “numerous rounds,” killing 19 kids and a couple of lecturers was within the school for about an hour earlier than being fatally shot.
During a press convention on Thursday, Escalon mentioned the gunman arrived on the school at roughly 11:30 a.m. and shot at two close by witnesses, however was not confronted by police earlier than getting into the school about 10 minutes later by way of a door within the west entrance that seemed to be unlocked.
Escalon mentioned there was not an armed school useful resource officer on the school who exchanged gunfire with the gunman, opposite to preliminary reviews from DPS officers.
Officers with the Uvalde Police Department and the Uvalde school district police arrived about 4 minutes later and had been unable to initially make entry due to an change of gunfire. He mentioned the vast majority of the gunfire was at first of the shooting.
While the officers had been there, he mentioned they known as for extra sources and helped evacuate kids and lecturers.
Approximately an hour later, Escalon mentioned U.S. Border Patrol tactical groups arrived, made entry and killed the gunman. Escalon didn’t reply questions on why Uvalde law enforcement officials didn’t kill the gunman through the hour he was contained in the school.
“We’re all hurting inside. We’re hurting inside for the community members in Uvalde, Texas,” Escalon mentioned. “We’ve got local partners that have to … live here and work here every day. The victims, the family members, we feel for them.”
Escalon pressured that it could take hours or days to recreate the scene and discover out precisely what occurred.
Uvalde Police Department chief releases assertion on shooting
Daniel Rodriguez, chief of the Uvalde Police Department, mentioned officers responded inside minutes to the school shooting together with Uvalde CISD officers. UPD officers sustained gunshot wounds from the gunman, however not life-threatening accidents.
He mentioned there may be an ongoing investigation by the Texas Rangers.
“I understand questions are surfacing regarding the details of what occurred. I know answers will not come fast enough during this trying time, but rest assured that with the completion of the full investigation, I will be able to answer all the questions that we can,” Rodriguez mentioned in an announcement.
Joe Garcia, husband of Texas trainer killed in Uvalde shooting, dies of coronary heart assault
Joe Garcia had simply positioned flowers Thursday morning on the memorial web site of his excessive school sweetheart Irma Garcia — his spouse of 24 years and mom of their 4 kids. Then he had a deadly coronary heart assault.
Irma Garcia was one among two fourth grade lecturers and 19 kids who died Tuesday in a hail of gunfire at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde.
“What happened was my Uncle Joe went to go leave flowers for my Tia (Aunt) Irma, his wife, and whenever he got back, he sat down at the kitchen table with his entire family, and after 3 minutes, he just fell over. I’m told my mom was giving him chest compressions. It happened around 10 o’clock. I know my little brother was there,” nephew John Martinez of San Marcos, Texas, informed the Detroit Free Press.
Now the 4 Garcia kids — ages 23, 19, 15 and 13 — are planning two funerals, Martinez mentioned.
– Detroit Free Press reporter Phoebe Wall Howard
President Biden to journey to Texas to consolation households of Uvalde school shooting victims
President Joe Biden will journey to Uvalde on Sunday to satisfy with the households of the victims of a mass elementary school shooting.
The White House mentioned in an announcement that the president and first woman would go to Texas to “grieve with the community that lost twenty-one lives in the horrific elementary school shooting.”
“As a nation, I think we must all must be there for them,” Biden mentioned on the White House earlier this week.
– USA Today writers Michael Collins and Rebecca Morin
Congressman requires FBI investigation into regulation enforcement motion
U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-San Antonio, is asking for a federal investigation into the regulation enforcement response to the shooting at Robb Elementary School in gentle of inconsistent reviews rising from state officers about what transpired on Tuesday.
In a letter to FBI Director Christopher Wrap on Thursday, Castro mentioned state officers are offering conflicting accounts of the shooting which might be “at odds with those provided by witnesses.”
“The people of Uvalde, of Texas, and of the nation deserve an accurate account of what transpired,” he wrote, earlier than calling on the federal company “to use its maximum authority to thoroughly examine the timeline of events and the law enforcement response and to produce a full, timely, and transparent report on your findings.”
Castro mentioned officers have did not account for each second between 11:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. on Tuesday, when the shooting allegedly befell. He additionally highlighted conflicting reviews from officers about whether or not a school safety officer exchanged fireplace with the shooter earlier than he entered the school.
“Onlookers allege that parents unsuccessfully urged law enforcement to enter the building during this time and confront the shooter,” he wrote.
The letter was made public moments after a news convention in Uvalde the place officers recanted particulars concerning the shooting they beforehand reported.
Funds established for victims of Uvalde school shooting
The League of United Latin American Citizens has arrange a fundraiser to assist assist the group of Uvalde, Texas.
“Where 90 percent of the students of Robb Elementary School identify as Hispanics and more than four-fifths are economically disadvantaged, this community needs our collective prayers, help, and support,” LULAC mentioned in a launch.
More:Here’s how one can assist these affected by the Texas school shooting in Uvalde
United Way of San Antonio and Bexar County has arrange a “United with Uvalde” fund to assist the victims households and survivors of the shooting.
“When a tragedy like this happens, it is imperative that we show those affected that they are not alone. They should not have to navigate these unimaginable circumstances by themselves,” United Way of San Antonio mentioned in a launch.
– Digital producer Sarah Ann Dueñas
Two performers withdraw from performances at NRA conference
Two performers scheduled to carry out on the National Rifle Association conference in Houston this week have withdrawn in response to the school shooting at Uvalde.
In an announcement, Larry Gatlin mentioned he couldn’t carry out in “in good conscience.” He mentioned he agreed with most positions of the NRA, however believes background checks could be a “step in the right direction” towards stopping tragic occasions just like the shooting in Uvalde.
“My prayers and thoughts go to all who are suffering, and I pray that the NRA will rethink some of its outdated and ill-thought-out positions regarding firearms in AMERICA,” Gatlin wrote on Facebook.
More:Don McLean cancels NRA efficiency after Texas shooting: ‘It could be disrespectful’
Don McLean mentioned in an announcement that he thought it could be disrespectful to carry out “In light of the recent events in Texas.”
“I’m sure all the folks planning to attend this event are shocked and sickened by these events as well. After all, we are all Americans,” McLean mentioned. “I share the sorrow for this terrible, cruel loss with the rest of the nation.”
Uvalde CISD postpones excessive school commencement after shooting
The Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District introduced in a tweet that the Uvalde High School Graduation ceremony could be postponed.
“Uvalde Community, out of the deepest respect for the families and our community affected by the tragedy we have experienced, the Uvalde High School Graduation Ceremony has been postponed,” the district mentioned. “This is a difficult time for everyone. Please keep all families in your prayers.”
Texas officers investigating if police acted quick sufficient to cease shooter at Uvalde school
Authorities are focusing on an early timeline of regulation enforcement’s convergence on Robb Elementary School, as some group members pleaded for officers to storm the constructing, the place the 18-year-old gunman had barricaded himself in a fourth grade classroom the place most victims died.
Sources near the investigation mentioned the evaluate of regulation enforcement actions is routine after a significant incident, nevertheless it has intensified on this case due to differing accounts from neighbors and witnesses about what police did and when. Authorities are also awaiting ultimate assortment of proof on the scene and evaluation of ballistics.
– Staff author Tony Plohetski
More:Texas officers investigating if police acted quick sufficient to cease shooter at Uvalde school
Meghan Markle visits Texas school shooting memorial web site, leaves white roses
Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex, made a go to Thursday to Uvalde to pay tribute to the victims.
An Archewell spokesperson confirmed Markle’s go to to the memorial to USA TODAY. The spokesperson mentioned it was vital for her to make the journey and lengthen her condolences and assist to the Texas group..
Markle was pictured on the memorial web site Thursday a somber line of headstones. In one other photograph, she left a bouquet of white roses on the base of one of many memorial headstones.
Austin eating places donating portion of gross sales to Uvalde reduction efforts
Two massive hospitality and restaurant teams in Austin have introduced they intend to contribute cash to reduction efforts in Uvalde following the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School.
Via 313 will donate 10% of all gross sales at its Texas places on Thursday to a number of verified GoFundMe campaigns that has been established to help the households in Uvalde.
New Waterloo hospitality group, which operates nearly a dozen lodges and eating places in Austin and that iSanta Fe, New Mexico, introduced it could donate 15% of meals and beverage gross sales at its Austin properties to a fundraiser created by the Los Verdes Austin FC supporters group.
– Staff author Matthew Odam
More:Austin eating places donating portion of gross sales Thursday to Uvalde shooting reduction efforts
GoFundMe units up hub for verified Uvalde shooting fundraisers to stop scams
“Our hearts go out to everyone impacted by (Tuesday’s) school shooting. At GoFundMe, we are working around the clock to ensure the families receive the support they need,” GoFundMe mentioned in a written assertion.
GoFundMe has a selected, promoted centralized hub for verified fundraisers associated to the Robb Elementary school shooting that’s being up to date as new fundraisers are verified. It will be discovered at gofundme.com/texas-elementary.
– Staff author Kara Carlson
More:GoFundMe units up hub for verified Uvalde shooting fundraisers to stop scams
San Antonio hospital gives updates on 4 sufferers; two in severe situation
University Health, a hospital in San Antonio, reported in a tweet that the circumstances of the 4 sufferers of their care from the shooting in Uvalde stays the identical. The hospital reported that there’s a 66-year-old girl and 10-year-old woman in severe situation, in addition to a 10-year-old woman and 9-year-old woman in good situation.
‘It’s time to die:’ Fourth-grader recounts surviving Uvalde school shooting
A fourth grader at Robb Elementary recounted his expertise of surviving the school shooting in Uvalde to KEN5, a tv station in San Antonio,
“He shot the next person’s door. We have a door in the middle. He opened it. He came in and he crouched a little bit and he said, he said, ‘It’s time to die,'” the boy recalled.
According to KEN5, the scholar and 4 others hid beneath a desk with a tablecloth through the shooting and got here out from the desk when the shooting stopped.
“When the cops came, the cop said: ‘Yell if you need help!’ And one of the persons in my class said ‘help.’ The guy overheard and he came in and shot her,” the boy said. “The cop barged into that classroom. The guy shot at the cop. And the cops started shooting.”
He mentioned Irma Garcia and Eva Mireles — his lecturers —saved their lives.
“They were nice teachers,” he said. “They went in front of my classmates to help. To save them.”
ABC: Mother of Uvalde gunman says son was “not a monster”
The mom of the gunman who shot 19 kids and two adults in an elementary school in Uvalde informed ABC News that her son was “not a monster” but could “be aggressive.”
“I had an uneasy feeling sometimes, like ‘what are you up to?” Adriana Reyes told ABC News. “He can be aggressive… If he really got mad.”
The gunman — who has been identified as Salvador Ramos, an 18-year-old Uvalde resident — legally purchased two AR rifles in the past two weeks before killing 21 people.
“We all have a rage, that some people have it more than others,” Reyes added.
According to ABC, Reyes did not know her son bought the weapons. She also expressed sympathy for children who were killed and their families
“Those kids, … I have no words,” Reyes said. “I don’t know what to say about those poor kids.”
Illinois governor responds to Abbott’s comments on gun violence in Chicago
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker responded Wednesday afternoon on Twitter to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott comments during a news conference mentioning gun violence in Chicago.
At Uvalde High School, Abbott said there are ‘real’ gun laws in Chicago, but “there are more people who are shot every weekend in Chicago than there are in schools in Texas.”
“We need to realize that people who think, ‘Well, maybe if we just implement tougher gun laws it’s going to solve it.’ Chicago and L.A. and New York disprove that thesis,” Abbott said.
More:Gov. Greg Abbott says tougher gun laws ‘not a real solution’ to ending mass shootings
Pritzker said Abbott was lying about Chicago and “what actually perpetuates gun violence.” Pritzker said that the majority of guns used in Chicago shootings come from states “with lax gun laws.”
“Don’t feed into the false narrative about Chicago and Illinois – it’s an excuse that politicians like you hide behind to stop the federal legislation we need to keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people,” Pritzker tweeted.
“Do better,” Pritzker added. “You have 19 kids and two teachers who deserve our best.”
Former Columbine High School principal expresses support for Uvalde shooting victims
As he has done after multiple previous school shootings, Frank DeAngelis, the former principal of Columbine High School, is expressing his support for the Uvalde community and victims.
DeAngelis informed TV station KUSA in Denver that he left a message for the principal of Robb Elementary School, and he might go to Uvalde if wanted, though he would additionally respect their house.
In 1999, two gunmen killed 12 college students and one trainer at Columbine High School. According to the Washington Post, greater than 311,000 college students have skilled gun violence at school since Columbine.
DeAngelis previously helped form the Principal Recovery Network, a group of principals who hope to offer support to other school leaders after school shootings. The network is now ready to help support the principal of Robb Elementary School, he told CNN.
“They’re all of our kids. It doesn’t matter whether they live in Texas, Colorado. They’re all of our kids. These senseless deaths just need to stop,” he said to KUSA. “You know, the thing that really feels important is I was asked early on is, ‘what are you gonna do?’ I said, ‘What are we gonna do?’ because they’re all of our kids and we need to step up as a society and say enough is enough and we got to stop this.”
CNN: Local hospital treating 3 kids, gunman’s grandmother
Lillian Liao, the pediatric trauma medical director at University Hospital in San Antonio, mentioned the hospital is treating three kids and the gunman’s grandmother, in accordance with CNN. All 4 sufferers are in important however secure situation and can proceed to obtain care over the subsequent days to weeks, she mentioned.
“Broadly speaking, … we were treating destructive wounds, and what that means is that there were large areas of tissue missing from the body, and they required emergency surgery because there was significant blood loss,” Liao informed CNN.
Liao, with tears in her eyes, mentioned the toughest a part of responding to the shooting on the hospital was understanding that lots of the victims had been possible already lifeless.
“I think that’s what has hit us the most, not of the patients that we did receive and we are honored to treat them, but the patients that we did not receive,” she mentioned. “I think that that is the most challenging aspect of our job right now.”
“Our job as the trauma center is to be focused on treating the patients that we did receive, and that’s what we’re going to do today,” she added.
NAACP President urges Gov. Abbott to skip NRA convention
Derrick Johnson, president and CEO of the NAACP, urged Gov. Greg Abbott to skip the National Rifle Association convention scheduled to start on Friday after the shooting in Uvalde.
In an announcement, Johnson mentioned that Abbott’s attendance on the occasion after a gunman shot and killed 19 kids would ship a message that “guns are more important than the lives you represent.” He implored Abbott to “not attend” and “make the right decision.”
“You say you ‘don’t know the answer’ to the endless, senseless school shootings. We have the answer: gun regulations,” Johnson mentioned. “Where do you begin? By skipping this week’s National Rifle Association conference.”
More:The NRA annual assembly in Texas nonetheless scheduled regardless of Uvalde shooting
AP: Frustrated onlookers urged police to cost into elementary school in Uvalde
During the shooting, bystanders urged law enforcement officials to maneuver extra rapidly and cost the elementary school in Uvalde the place a gunman shot 19 kids and two lecturers, in accordance with the Associated Press.
Juan Carranza, who noticed the scene from exterior his home, mentioned close by girls pleaded with officers to “Go in there! Go in there!” however they didn’t instantly achieve this.
Javier Cazares, who arrived at Robb Elementary School whereas police had been exterior, reportedly instructed to different onlookers that they need to cost into the school. The AP reported that the gunman shot and killed Cazares’ fourth grade daughter.
“Let’s just rush in because the cops aren’t doing anything like they are supposed to,” Cazares mentioned, in accordance with the AP. “More could have been done.”
More:Bystanders report urging police to cost into Uvalde, Texas school
Uvalde Leader-News mourns shooting victims on entrance web page
The entrance web page of the Uvalde Leader-News, the native paper within the city the place a gunman killed 21 individuals, is nearly completely black, aside from a single date: May 24, 2022.
The paper ran a narrative concerning the shooting with the headline “City’s Soul Crushed” and pictures of regulation enforcement officers escorting kids exterior the school.
Names of Texas school shooting victims proceed to emerge
Families and associates are mourning the lack of the 21 victims of the Uvalde school shooting. According to American-Statesman reporters, the record of confirmed victims at present consists of:
- Nevaeh Bravo, 10
- Eliahana Cruz Torres, 10
- Jose Flores, 10
- Amerie Jo Garza, 10
- Uziyah Garcia, 10
- Ellie Garcia, 10
- Xavier Javier Lopez, 10
- Miranda Mathis, 11
- Jayce Luevanos, 10
- Layla Salazar, 10
- Jailah Silguero, 10
- Alithia Ramirez, 10
- Maite Yuleana Rodriguez, 10
- Alexandria “Lexi” Aniyah Rubio, 10
- Irma Garcia, trainer
- Eva Mireles, trainer
More:‘He was our child’: Families share tales of those that died in Uvalde school shooting
Austin-area school districts enhance regulation enforcement presence after Uvalde shooting
With the final day of school and commencement ceremonies across the nook for a lot of Central Texas school districts, officers elevated regulation enforcement presence on some campuses within the wake of the lethal shooting Tuesday at a Uvalde elementary school.
Several districts comparable to Austin, Hays, Leander and Pflugerville elevated the variety of officers at some campuses and for commencement ceremonies. Some districts, together with Leander, had been holding commencement ceremonies Wednesday.
Officers who serve at Austin school district excessive faculties shall be redeployed to elementary and center faculties, district spokesperson Jason Stanford mentioned. That is along with regular safety measures, comparable to locking all doorways and monitoring social media for threats.
– Staff author Nusaiba Mizan
More:Austin-area school districts enhance regulation enforcement presence after Uvalde shooting
What it is advisable know Thursday: Uvalde, Texas school shooting