Web Desk:
According to Associated Press (AP), once again, one of America’s deadliest mass shootings happened in Texas.
Among the latest victims were 19 children in the small town of Uvalde, west of San Antonio, where on Tuesday an 18-year-old gunman opened fire inside an elementary school in the nation’s deadliest school shooting in nearly a decade and the latest gruesome moment for a country scarred by a string of massacres.
Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott identified the gunman as 18-year-old Salvador Ramos. Two other adults also died in the attack. The gunman was killed by authorities.
The attack began about 11:30 a.m. when the gunman crashed his car outside the school and ran into the building, according to Travis Considine, a spokesman for the Texas Department of Public Safety. A resident who heard the crash called 911, and two local police officers exchanged gunfire with the shooter.
Officials did not immediately reveal a motive, but they identified the assailant as Salvador Ramos, a resident of the community about 85 miles (135 kilometers) west of San Antonio. Law enforcement officials said he acted alone.
Ramos had hinted on social media that an attack could be coming, according to state Sen. Roland Gutierrez, who said he had been briefed by state police. He noted that the gunman “suggested the kids should watch out,” and that he had bought two “assault weapons” after turning 18. Before heading to the school, Ramos shot his grandmother, Gutierrez said.
But President Joe Biden appeared ready for a fight, calling for new gun restrictions in an address to the nation hours after the attack. President Joe Biden angrily made a renewed push after the tragedy.
“When in God’s name are we going to stand up to the gun lobby?” he asked in an address from the White House.
The school has nearly 600 students in second, third, and fourth grades. The vast majority of the students are Latino.
“My heart is broken today,” said Hal Harrell, the school district superintendent. “We’re a small community, and we’re going to need your prayers to get through this.”
The tragedy in Uvalde was the deadliest school shooting in Texas history, and it added to a grim tally in the state, which has been the site of some of the deadliest shootings in the U.S. over the past five years.
