Texas School Shooting: Gunman Killed 19 Kids, 2 Teachers In Same Class

UVALDE, TX — The gunman who killed 19 children and two teachers in an elementary school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, on Tuesday posted brief messages on Facebook saying he shot his grandmother and then expressed his intent to shoot up an elementary school, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said at a news conference Wednesday.

The gunman barricaded himself inside a classroom and opened fire, a Texas Department of Public Safety spokesperson said in an appearance on NBC's "The Today Show" on Wednesday morning. The children and teachers who were killed were all in the same classroom.

There are 17 people injured in addition to those killed, but their injuries are not life-threatening, Abbott said.

The gunman, identified by Abbott as 18-year-old Salvador Ramos, wore a tactical vest and used a rifle in the attack on Robb Elementary School, Lt. Chris Olivarez said. Abbott said Wednesday there was no criminal or mental history authorities know of but they are looking at whether he had a juvenile record.

Prior to the school shooting, Ramos shot his grandmother in the face and drove to the school, according to Abbott. He crashed the car and entered a back door of the school with an AR-15, Abbott said at the news conference Wednesday.

Law enforcement officers heard gunshots as they responded "almost immediately," according to Lt. Olivarez. The shooter exchanged gunfire with the officers and barricaded himself inside a classroom.

"He just began shooting anyone in that classroom, anyone who was in his way," Olivarez said.

Officers broke windows and helped students and staff evacuate as quickly as possible until a tactical team of local, state and federal officers was able to force their way into the class. Police then shot and killed the shooter, according to Olivarez.

The Texas Rangers are leading the investigation, Olivarez said.

Speaking in a separate interview on CNN, Olivarez described the shooter as "complete evil." Before entering the school, Olivarez said the shooter was able to shoot and injure two police officers. A third officer was also injured inside the classroom, according to Olivarez.

A Border Patrol agent was injured during the shooting, according to a statement from Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas. It is unclear if the Border Patrol agent is among the three injured officers reported by Olivarez.

Family members of all the deceased victims have been contacted, and families and loved ones can connect with victim services at the Uvalde County Fairplex, according to Abbott.

Attorney General Ken Paxton is facilitating the setup process for the victim services program, he said in a statement.

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Ramos was from Uvalde and lived with his grandparents.

He recently bought two rifles from a local licensed seller, one on May 17 and one May 20, along with 375 rounds of ammunition on May 18, according to a briefing that state Sen. John Whitmire, chair of the Senate Criminal Justice Committee, received from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives late Tuesday. One of the rifles was found in the crashed vehicle, and the other was used in the attack, according to the briefing.

"It's a complete tragedy here in Uvalde, a small, tight-knit community, right now," Olivarez said.

President Joe Biden announced Wednesday he and First Lady Jill Biden would visit Uvalde "in the coming days," before delivering remarks on public trust and safety.

Uvalde is a town of 15,000 people with a heavily Hispanic population located 85 miles west of San Antonio at the junction of U.S. Highway 83 and U.S. Highway 90.

Robb Elementary has 576 students, most of them Hispanic and considered economically disadvantaged, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.

Mary Fowler, 64, a former Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District employee, expressed disbelief that the shooting could happen in the small town, which she said was hit hard by COVID-19. Her grandson attends Robb Elementary, and her son-in-law is a school district employee who was at the school when the shooting occurred.

"We aren't the richest town," Fowler told The Texas Tribune. "Everybody is struggling, and it was just starting to feel like we were getting back on our feet. It's going to be tough."

Uvalde CISD canceled the remainder of the school year, including extracurricular activities, Superintendent Hal Harrell announced Tuesday. The last day of school was supposed to be Thursday.

Abbott called on all Texans to pull together to support the families of victims and praised law enforcement officers for courageously running toward gunfire to help evacuate students and teachers and stop the gunman.

The shooting has renewed calls to enact gun control legislation, specifically for the Senate to vote on H.R. 8. The bill, which has passed the House, would prohibit most private transfers of firearms unless a licensed dealer, manufacturer or importer facilitates the deal in order to perform background checks.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer pleaded with Republicans on the Senate floor Wednesday to put themselves "in the parents' shoes for once."

Biden argued the 2nd Amendment is not absolute during his remarks on public trust and safety, saying there has always been limitations since its ratification.

Texas gubernatorial candidate Beto O'Rourke interrupted Abbott's news conference Wednesday, blaming Abbott and other state leaders for failing to implement gun control legislation in the wake of mass shootings in El Paso and at Sante Fe High School near Houston as well as Sandy Hook in Newtown, Connecticut.

O'Rourke pointed a finger at Abbott as he was escorted out, claiming "this is on you."

Abbott rebuffed suggestions that gun control measures would help curb mass shootings and pointed instead to mental health issues as the cause.

"Anybody that shoots somebody else has a mental health challenge, period," Abbott said.

This story is being updated.