Texas incident: 19 children killed in primary school attack
Nineteen children and two Afghans were killed in a shooting at an elementary school in South Texas.
Officials said a gunman opened fire at Rob Elementary School -- frequented by children between the ages of 7 and 10 -- in the city of Ofaldi, before being killed by police officers.
Investigators say the 18-year-old suspect had a pistol, an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle and large-capacity bullet cabinets.
The young man is suspected of shooting his grandmother before heading to school.
Local media reported that he may have been a high school student in the area.
Uvalde Independent Unified District Police Chief Pete Arredondo said the shooting began at 11:32 a.m. local time Tuesday, and investigators believe the attacker "acted alone during this heinous crime."
Texas Governor Greg Abbott said the shooter, who said his name was Salvador Ramos, left a vehicle before entering the school to shoot "horribly and incomprehensibly."
One of the adults killed was a school. American media reported that her name was Eva Mireles. Her education district website says she has a daughter in college and loves jogging and hiking.
The school has nearly 500 pupils, mostly Hispanics, about 135 km west of San Antonio.
The Associated Press reported that a U.S. Border Patrol soldier, who was nearby when the shooting began, rushed to the school and shot and killed the gunman standing behind a checkpoint.
The Border Guard, a federal agency, guards U.S. ports and has a point less than 80 miles from the border with Mexico.
Two border guards were reportedly shot in an exchange with the gunman. Officials said one agent was shot in the head and both are now in stable condition in hospital.
According to CBS News, the attacker was wearing a bulletproof vest while carrying out the attack.
North American Affairs Editor
This is a very terrible tragedy, but it is frustratingly familiar in America. The grief and sympathy expressed throughout the country are undoubtedly real. But no one is really surprised that this could happen.
There have already been 27 school shootings this year alone. Young schoolchildren routinely train for what to do if a gunman enters the classroom.
It was only 10 days since 10 people were killed in a shooting in New York.
Politicians recognize that this is an almost unique problem in America, where shootings have outpaced car accidents, as the leading cause of death for children and adolescents. But it is a problem that politics seems unable to solve. Deeply held views on gun control have not changed, in the wake of events such as the Ofaldi tragedy.
"Why do we let this happen all the time?" asked President Biden.
Why are we willing to live with this massacre?
But there is no indication that Democrats are getting closer to passing stricter gun control legislation. Some Republicans are already accusing them of using the recent school shooting to advance their political goals.
Rob Elementary School will join the names of other schools in Sandy Hook and Parkland. The killing of innocent schoolchildren has rekindled the arms debate in America but has not brought it closer to a solution.
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By evening, police remained outside the Community Centre in Ofaldi despite a severe rainstorm.
Cries and sighs were heard outside earlier, as family members gathered there to receive shocking news of their children's deaths.
Other individuals were asked to give DNA samples to help identify some of the young victims.
A few blocks from Rob Elementary School, a small vigil was held for the victims and survivors of the attack.
Carla Bohman's voice was echoed when she told the group that a family friend was her young daughter, a student at school and that she was among those still missing.
"They don't know if she's in surgery or among the dead, but they know she's a victim because she's still missing," Bohman said. I can't believe it."
Cheryl Johaz, a resident of Oval, wept quietly as she prayed.
"You can't understand an evil like this," she said. No matter where it happens, it's more difficult when it happens in your area."
The school year ended early in the wake of the shooting, said Hal Harrell, director of the school district.
In a speech at the White House, President Joe Biden said he was "tired and tired" of responding to mass shootings and calling for gun restrictions.
He added: "How many young children have witnessed what happened - and looked at their friends dying as if they were on a battlefield? Have mercy on us. These scenes will remain with them for the rest of their lives."
The president ordered flags to be flown at the White House and other U.S. federal buildings in honour of the victims in the Oval.
School shootings have become frequent emergencies in the United States, with 26 cases recorded last year, according to Edwin, an educational business publication.
Closing exercises during the shooting remain active, a common part of the curriculum, from primary to secondary schools.
The 2012 shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut was the deadliest attack. Twenty of the 26 victims were between the ages of five and six.
Speaking to the U.S. Senate in Washington on Tuesday, Democratic Senator Chris Murphy begged his colleagues to pass gun control legislation.
"These kids weren't unlucky," he said. This is only happening in this country. Anywhere else, young children don't go to school thinking they might be shot that day."
But Texas Senator Ted Cruz, a Republican, rejected calls for gun control. Restricting the rights of "law-abiding citizens ... is a violation of the law," he said. It doesn't work. It's ineffective. It does not prevent crime."
Gun shootings have surpassed car accidents to become the leading cause of death for U.S. children and adolescents in 2020, according to data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last month.
An FBI report Monday found that "active shooting" attacks doubled after the coronavirus began spreading in 2020.