A mass shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde claimed the lives of 19 students and a teacher on Tuesday (May 24), per a report from San Antonio CBS affiliate KENS.
Gov. Greg Abbott said that the alleged shooter was Salvador Ramos, an 18-year-old Uvalde resident, according to the station.
“It’s believed that he entered into the Robb Elementary School in Uvalde with a handgun, and he may have also had a rifle, but that is not confirmed according to my most recent report,” Abbott said, KENS reported. “He shot and killed, horrifically, incomprehensibly, 14 students and killed a teacher. [The shooter], he himself, is deceased, and it’s believed that responding officers killed him.”
Home to 16,000 people, Uvalde is about 84 miles west of San Antonio.
KENS reported that the shooting occurred a little after 11:30 a.m. at a building on campus that has second, third and fourth grade classes.
All schools subsequently went into lockdown because of the gunshots, according to the station.
The families of the victims have been notified, KENS reported.
Students were evacuated to the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District’s (UCISD) reunification center at the Willie DeLeon Civic Center, the station reported.
Representatives with Uvalde Memorial Hospital told KENS that 15 were rushed there, with reportedly two having died upon arrival.
Abbott called on the state to lift those affected by the tragedy in prayer.
“Texans are grieving for the victims of this senseless crime [and] for the community of Uvalde,” the governor said in a tweet. “[First Lady] Cecilia {Abbott] and I mourn this horrific loss [and] urge all Texans to come together. I’ve instructed @TxDPS & Texas Rangers to work with local law enforcement to fully investigate this crime.”
The governor said that two law enforcement officers sustained injuries during the shooting but are expected to make a recovery, San Antonio ABC affiliate KSAT reported.
A 10-year-old girl and a 66-year-old woman are listed in critical condition at the city’s University Hospital, per the station.
