Up next
Author

The shooting took place at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. It’s a town of 15,000 people located about 80 miles west of San Antonio.

Initial reports were that a gunman had killed two people and left several others were seriously injured. However more recent reports say that 15 people are dead including 14 children at the school and one adult teacher. The medical facilities in the town were not considered sufficient to deal with a mass shooting with this many casualties so some of the injured have been taken to hospitals in San Antonio.

The gunman is also reportedly dead. Gov. Gregg Abbott identified him a short time ago as Salvador Ramos, an 18-year-old who lived in Uvalde. Gov. Abbott said Ramos entered the school with a handgun and possibly also a rifle but that’s not confirmed yet. Ramos was eventually shot dead by police. Two officers were shot but those injuries weren’t life threatening.

Later in the same statement, Gov. Abbott said that Ramos shot his grandmother before attacking the school. At this time there is no clear motive for the shooting but the investigation is just starting. Here’s a photo of Salvador Ramos.

He did have an Instagram account but there were apparently only 3 posts on it, one of himself and two of his guns.

I’ll continue to update this post as more information becomes available.

Update: A woman who lives in Uvalde posted this brief video of Robb Elementary on Facebook which she says was sent to her by “her girls.” Not clear if she means her daughters who work there or friends but presumably this wasn’t filmed by kids. Anyway, it appears to show Ramos running toward the school with a rifle. To be clear, I haven’t seen any authorities confirm this is real yet so until that happens take it with a grain of salt.

Update: CNN reports a Customs and Border Protection officer was shot in the head:

A call went out for help for an active shooter situation, according to a law enforcement official.

US Customs and Border Protection, which is the largest law enforcement agency in the area, assisted with the response. A CBP agent was shot in the head. His injuries are non-life-threatening, according to the official.

Also, here’s the reaction from the White House.

Update: Sen. Ted Cruz posted a response not that different from the one issued by the White House but he’s being attacked for it.

This tweet from a Democratic Rep. in Arizona seems to sum up the mood.

The focus on Cruz is probably in reaction to this CNN interview:

Meanwhile Sen. Murphy is saying this.

Update: CNN reports Ramos’ grandmother is still alive.

State Sen. Roland Gutierrez told CNN the grandmother was airlifted to San Antonio and “is still holding on,” according to information he was given by the Texas Rangers.

“This young man shot his grandmother and fled that scene from that incident,” Gutierrez told CNN’s Erin Burnett.

And the death toll has been update to 19, not including the shooter.

Update: From the Associated Press, the CBP agent did the right thing. In some previous incidents police have spent minutes outside the school deciding what to do. Remember Broward County Sheriff’s Deputy Scot Peterson who waited outside at Marjory Stoneman Douglas?  Not in this case.

A Border Patrol agent who was nearby when the shooting began rushed into the school without waiting for backup and shot and killed the gunman, who was behind a barricade, according to a law enforcement official speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk about it.

The agent was wounded but able to walk out of the school, the law enforcement source said.

If that’s accurate then this CBP agent ought to be praised for his bravery and quick action.

Source: