UVALDE, Texas — Authorities in Texas are providing more details about the gunman’s movements and the police response to the killings of 19 children and two adults at an elementary school. Lt. Christopher Olivarez of the Texas Department of Public Safety told NBC’s `Today’ show that the Uvalde Police Department was first alerted to a crashed vehicle and an armed person making his way into the school.
Police and state troopers arrived in time to hear gunshots inside a classroom where the man barricaded himself and began shooting children and teachers. Olivarez said some of the officers were shot by the gunman, so others began breaking windows around the school trying to evacuate children and teachers.
Olivarez said ‘tactical law enforcement’ forced their way into the classroom, where ‘they were met with gunfire as well but they were able to shoot and kill that suspect.”
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KEY DEVELOPMENTS IN THE TEXAS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL SHOOTING:
– Gunman kills at least 19 children at Texas elementary school
– Biden says ‘we have to act’ after Texas school shooting
– Sen. Murphy begs for gun compromise after Texas shooting
– A look at some of the deadliest US school shootings
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VATICAN CITY – Pope Francis has said he was ‘heartbroken about the massacre’ at an elementary school in Texas.
Francis spoke Wednesday during his general audience. He said he was praying for the children and adults killed and their families after a gunman opened fire at an elementary school in the heavily Latino town of Uvalde, Texas, killing at least 19 children and two adults before an officer shot and killed the gunman.
‘It’s time to say ‘Enough’ to the indiscriminate trade of weapons!’ he said. Francis called for a renewed commitment ‘so that tragedies like this cannot occur again.’
The Argentine pope has long railed against the weapons industry, calling arms manufacturers ‘merchants of death.’
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UKRAINE – Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskyy said Wednesday that he was ‘deeply saddened by the news of the murder of innocent children in Texas.’
Zelenskyy, in a tweet, sent his condolences to the families of the victims, the people of the U.S. and President Joe Biden after a gunman opened fire Tuesday at an elementary school in the heavily Latino town of Uvalde, Texas, killing at least 19 children and two adults before an officer shot and killed the gunman.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said, ‘As a nation that goes through the pain of losing innocent young lives, Ukraine shares the pain of our U.S. friends.’
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UVALDE – Authorities say the victim death toll from the Texas school shooting now stands at 19 children and two adults.
The latest figures come from Travis Considine, a spokesman for the Texas Department of Public Safety. The gunman also died.
Authorities offered no names or descriptions of the two adults.
Gov. Greg Abbott said one of the two adults was a teacher.
Officials did not immediately reveal a motive, but the governor identified the assailant as Salvador Ramos and said he was a resident of the Unvalde, about 85 miles (135 kilometers) west of San Antonio.
The assault at Robb Elementary School in the heavily Latino town of Uvalde was the deadliest shooting at a U.S. grade school since a gunman killed 20 children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Connecticut, almost a decade ago.
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KEY DEVELOPMENTS IN THE TEXAS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL SHOOTING:
– Gunman kills at least 19 children at Texas elementary school
– Biden says ‘we have to act’ after Texas school shooting
– Sen. Murphy begs for gun compromise after Texas shooting
– A look at some of the deadliest US school shootings
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OTHER DEVELOPMENTS:
WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden struck a somber and serious tone, calling for new gun restrictions, in an address to the nation after 18 children were killed in a shooting at a Texas elementary school.
‘When in God’s name are we going to stand up to the gun lobby? When in God’s name do we do what we all know needs to be done?’ Biden asked.
Biden, who has lost both a son and a daughter, was joined by first lady Dr. Jill Biden at the White House on Tuesday night.
‘Why are we willing to live with this carnage? Why do we keep letting this happen? Where in God’s name is our backbone?’ Biden said, adding later, ‘It’s time to act.’
At least 18 children and three adults were killed at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, on Tuesday morning. Uvalde is about 85 miles west of San Antonio. The 18-year-old gunman is dead. It’s unclear if that number includes the shooter.
Biden called on the nation to pray for the parents and siblings of those who died. ‘To lose a child is like having a piece of your soul ripped away,’ he said.
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LOS ANGELES – CBS has pulled the season finale of ‘FBI’ after the deadly elementary school shooting in Texas.
The network said Tuesday that it will not air the show’s season four finale titled ‘Prodigal Son.’ The decision was made after a gunman killed at least 18 students Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. Three adults were also killed in the shooting. It’s unclear if the gunman was one of the three.
The finale’s storyline involved a suspected student’s participation in a deadly robbery. The synopsis includes a mention that the episode involved a cache of automatic weapons.
It’s unclear whether the episode will air in the future.
The network will re-air the show’s 12th episode ‘Under Pressure’ in place of the season finale.
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UVALDE – The superintendent of a Texas elementary school where an 18-year-old gunman shot and killed 18 children said his heart is broken today.
Hal Harrell, superintendent of the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District, said Tuesday that Robb Elementary School will be closed and all school activities will be canceled until further notice. Harrell also said grief counselors would be available starting Wednesday morning.
‘My heart is broken today,’ Harrell said. ‘We’re a small community and we’re going to need your prayers to get through this.’
Three adults were also killed in the Tuesday morning shooting. The gunman is dead, likely killed by police, officials said. It’s unclear if the number of adults dead includes the shooter.
The death toll increased Tuesday evening. State Sen. Roland Gutierrez said he’d been briefed by state police on the latest fatalities from the school in Uvalde, a heavily Latino community about 85 miles west of San Antonio.
In addition to 21 dead, three people injured in the shooting remain in serious condition, Gutierrez told The Associated Press. The gunman is dead, likely killed by police.