22 people were killed, including the gunman, in a midday elementary school attack in southern Texas. Continue reading the latest Texas School Shooting news here.
It was a typical Tuesday in Uvalde—Texas, as students and teachers at Robb Elementary School wound down the school year, with graduation set for the weekend.
In the morning, the school celebrated its honor roll, but shortly after, the bright future of 19 young students and 2 teachers were tragically cut short.
An 18-year-old gunman wearing body armor cashed his car in a ditch near the school, then, entered a classroom and locked himself inside, killing 21 people.
The Robb Elementary School attack came less than just two weeks after a shooting in Buffalo, New York, grocery store that killed 10 people. The police say a white supremacist targeted black people.
It was the latest mass shooting to shake the conscience of Americans, and make them wonder what it will take for the killings to stop.
Police accused of delay in storming Uvalde school
Police who responded to the Texas school massacre have been accused of being “unprepared” and failing to respond as videos reveal parents pleading with officers outside the school.
The father of 10-year-old victim Jacklyn Cazares said he even suggested he could go in himself with other bystanders as he was frustrated police were not doing it themselves.
Officials say gunman Salvador Ramos, 18, was inside the school for up to an hour before he was killed. Eyewitness Juan Carranza told the Associated Press that the women shouted at the officers to “go in there”.
But the 24-year-old, who witnessed the scene at the Robb Elementary School from outside his house, said police did not enter.
US Border Patrol Chief Raul Ortiz, meanwhile told the press that dozens of officers responded to the shooting and did not hesitate.
President Biden says the US can’t delay any longer on gun control
This event brought the discussion around gun control once again to the fore, even as members of the small community sought to make a sense of the tragedy.
It is legal to buy a gun at 18 in Texas, and according to US media, the attacker bought it soon after his birthday.
US President Joe Biden said the idea that a teenager was able to legally purchase weapons that were “designed and marketed to kill, is just wrong”.
“I’m just sick and tired of what’s going on and what continues to go on,” he said, calling for action on gun control.
Is mental health the reason for excessive mass shootings in the US?
This event of mass shooting has politicians discussing the root cause of America’s high number of gun-related killings compared to the rest of the developed world.
Republican lawmakers were quick to blame mental health, as they have in other recent mass shootings, including Buffalo just a couple of weeks ago.
“We have a problem with mental health illness in this community”, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said at a press conference in Uvalde.
Abbot used a similar line in 2019 after a gunman killed 23 people and injured 23 more at a Walmart in El Paso. “Bottom-line is mental health is a large contributor to any type of violence or shooting violence,” he said at the time.
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