After a gunman opened fire at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, on Tuesday, major points began to emerge about the horror that unfolded.
The rampage, the deadliest school shooting in Texas history, left 19 students and two dead after an 18-year-old barricaded himself in his classroom.
Police forced access to the classroom and killed the gunman.
“It’s a small elegance hall, you can have 25 to 30 students there, plus there were two teachers there. . . a hall of typical elegance, where you have massive teams of children in that elegance all together, with nowhere to go,” the lieutenant said. Chris Olivarez, spokesman for the Texas Department of Public Safety, in a television interview.
We now also know that the shooter legally purchased two AR rifles in the past two weeks, according to a report from state and federal government officials to Texas officials.
As the hours passed, more patients became known and the network learned more about the lives lost on Tuesday.
Follow live updates on the Uvalde, Texas school shooting and its aftermath on Thursday. This story will be up to date on the day.
Gov. Greg Abbott canceled an in-person appearance at a National Rifle Association conference in Houston on Friday and will be in Uvalde to communicate about state resources for those affected by a mass shooting in the South Texas city this week.
Abbott will appear at the conference via video recording, his spokeswoman Renae Eze said. He to address a leadership forum sponsored by the NRA’s lobbying arm.
Earlier this week, the NRA recommitted to holding its annual conference over the weekend after a gunman entered Robb Elementary School and killed 21 people, the deadliest shooting in the United States in a decade.
Former President Donald Trump on Wednesday would attend the conference as scheduled.
When two Major League Baseball groups clashed Thursday night, the groups’ official Twitter accounts shared data on gun violence instead of posting updates about the game.
“Instead of covering the game and in collaboration with the Tampa Bay Rays, we will use our channels to provide information about the effects of gun violence,” the New York Yankees tweeted. “The devastating events that took place in Uvalde, Buffalo and countless other communities across our country are unbearable tragedies. “
The Tampa Bay Rays tweeted the statement.
In addition to the quotes, the groups tweeted that “every day, more than 110 Americans die with firearms and more than two hundred are shot and injured,” as well as that “guns were the leading cause of death for American youth and adolescents in 2020. “
Other MLB Twitter accounts were still covering their games on Thursday.
The Rays have committed $50,000 to Everytown for Gun Safety, one of america’s gun violence prevention organizations. USA
“It can’t get normal,” the Rays tweeted. We cannot be insensitive. We can’t look the other way. We all know that if nothing changes, nothing will change. “
David Hogg, founder of the student-led March for Life, which supports gun legislation, shared the Yankees’ tweet Thursday night.
“I’m telling you,” Hogg tweeted, “this time will be different. “
Javier Cazares, the father of Jackie, 9, who was among the 19 schoolchildren killed in the Uvalde school shooting, told the American statesman who ran to school after learning of the shooting and arrived around noon Tuesday.
He said several were yelling at officials to enter the building to confront the gunman, and when officials failed to do so, they threatened to enter themselves.
He said it appeared no police officer was in the building as he waited outside.
The story echoes several others that emerged from parents and other passers-by outside the school.
Victor Escalón, regional director of the Texas Department of Public Safety, said Thursday that the gunman was inside the school for about an hour before being shot dead through a Border Patrol officer.
Escalón, speaking at a news conference, did not respond to questions about why Uvalde police did not arrest the shooter. Instead, he said they were evacuating schoolchildren and other classrooms.
He said investigators are still accurately reconstructing what happened.
Cazares said he has not yet spoken to investigators that a federal agent stopped at his home when he was not there.
“You are angry. You are sad. You’re everywhere,” he said.
His niece, Annabelle Rodriguez, also died.
— Personal editor Ryan Autullo
Victor Escalón, regional director of the South Texas Department of Public Safety, said the gunman who fired “a lot of shots,” killing 19 young men and 2 teachers, remained at the school for about an hour before being shot.
At a news conference Thursday, Escalón said the gunman arrived at the school around 11:30 a. m. and shot two witnesses nearby, but which police did not confront before entering the school about 10 minutes later through a door on the west front that gave the impression of being unlocked.
Escalon said there was no armed school resource officer at the school who exchanged gunfire with the shooter, contrary to initial reports from DPS officials.
Officers from the Uvalde Police Department and Uvalde School District Police arrived about 4 minutes later and were first unable to enter due to an exchange of gunfire. He said most of the shots were fired at the beginning of the shooting.
While officials were there, he said they had asked for more resources and helped evacuate youth and teachers.
About an hour later, Escalón said U. S. Border Patrol tactical groups were not being able to do so. The U. S. gunman arrived, entered, and killed the gunman. Escalón did not respond to questions about why Uvalde police officers didn’t kill the gunman the hour he was inside the school.
“We all have internal pain. We internally harmed the members of netpaintings in Uvalde, Texas,” Escalón said. “We have local partners who want to. . . live here and paint here every day. The victims, the circle of family members, we feel sorry for them.
Escalon said it would take hours or days to recreate the scene and pinpoint what happened.
Daniel Rodriguez, chief of the Uvalde Police Department, said officials responded within minutes to the school shooting with Uvalde CISD officials. UPD officials were shot and wounded by the gunman, but there were no fatal injuries.
He said there is an ongoing investigation through the Texas Rangers.
“I perceive that questions arise related to the main points of what happened. I know the answers may not come quickly enough at this difficult time, but trust that with the final touch of the full investigation, I will be able to answer any questions we can,” Rodriguez said in a statement.
Joe Garcia had just placed flowers Thursday morning at the memorial site of his high school sweetheart Irma Garcia — his wife of 24 years and mother of their four children. Then he had a fatal heart attack.
Irma Garcia was one of two fourth grade teachers and 19 children who died Tuesday in a hail of gunfire at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde.
“What happened was my Uncle Joe went to go leave flowers for my Tia (Aunt) Irma, his wife, and whenever he got back, he sat down at the kitchen table with his entire family, and after 3 minutes, he just fell over. I’m told my mom was giving him chest compressions. It happened around 10 o’clock. I know my little brother was there,” nephew John Martinez of San Marcos, Texas, told the Detroit Free Press.
Now the four Garcia children — ages 23, 19, 15 and 13 — are planning two funerals, Martinez said.
– Detroit Free Press reporter Phoebe Wall Howard
President Biden to Travel to Texas to Comfort Families of Uvalde School Shooting Victims
President Joe Biden will travel to Uvalde on Sunday to meet with the families of victims of a mass shooting at an elementary school.
The White House said in a statement that the president and the first girl would travel to Texas to “mourn with the chain that lost twenty-one lives in the horrific elementary school shooting. “
“As a nation, we must all be there for them,” Biden said at the White House earlier this week.
– Michael Collins and Rebecca Morin, writers for USA Today
U. S. Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-San Antonio, is calling for a federal investigation into law enforcement’s reaction to the Robb Elementary School shooting in light of inconsistent reports from the state about what happened Tuesday.
In a letter to FBI Director Christopher Wrap on Thursday, Castro said state officials were offering conflicting accounts of the shooting that “do not agree with those provided by witnesses. “
“The other people of Uvalde, Texas and the country deserve an accurate account of what happened,” he wrote, before asking the federal firm “to use its highest authority to read very well about the chronology of events and the reaction of law enforcement and to produce a full, timely, and transparent report on their findings.
Castro said officials ignored each and every moment between 11:30 a. m. m. and 1 p. m. Tuesday, when the shooting allegedly occurred. He also highlighted conflicting reports from officials about whether a school security guard exchanged gunfire with the shooter before he entered the school.
“Onlookers allege that the parents unsuccessfully suggested that law enforcement enter the construction in this era and confront the gunman,” he wrote.
The letter was made public moments after a press conference in Uvalde where officials retracted major points of the shooting that they had reported in the past.
The League of United Latin American Citizens has established a fundraiser to help the Uvalde, Texas network.
“Where 90% of Robb Elementary School students identify as Hispanic and more than four-fifths are financially disadvantaged, this network desires our collective prayers, help and support,” LULAC said in a statement.
More: How you can help those affected by the Texas school shooting in Uvalde
United Way of San Antonio and Bexar County has established a “United with Uvalde” fund to help the families of the victims and survivors of the shooting.
“When a tragedy like this occurs, it is imperative that we show those affected that they are not alone. They shouldn’t have to go through those cases alone,” The United Way of San Antonio said in a statement.
– Digital manufacturer Sarah Ann Dueñas
Two artists who were scheduled to perform this week at the National Rifle Association conference in Houston pulled out in reaction to the Uvalde school shooting.
In a statement, Larry Gatlin said he may not act “in conscience. “He said he agreed with most of the NRA’s positions, but believes the background check would be a “step in the right direction” to avoid tragic events. like the shooting in Uvalde.
“My prayers and mind are with everyone who is suffering, and I pray that the NRA will reconsider some of its inconsiderate positions related to guns in AMERICA,” Gatlin wrote on Facebook.
More: Don McLean cancels NRA after Texas shooting: ‘That would be disrespectful’
Don McLean said in a statement that he thought it would be disrespectful to perform “In light of the recent events in Texas.”
“I’m sure all the folks planning to attend this event are shocked and sickened by these events as well. After all, we are all Americans,” McLean said. “I share the sorrow for this terrible, cruel loss with the rest of the nation.”
The Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District announced in a tweet that the Uvalde High School Graduation ceremony would be postponed.
“Uvalde Community, out of the deepest respect for the families and our community affected by the tragedy we have experienced, the Uvalde High School Graduation Ceremony has been postponed,” the district said. “This is a difficult time for everyone. Please keep all families in your prayers.”
Texas officials are reviewing law enforcement’s reaction to early reports that a gunman broke into an elementary school in Uvalde on Tuesday to determine if officials did not act temporarily enough before the gunman killed 19 youths and two teachers.
Authorities are focusing on an early timeline of the convergence of law enforcement at Robb Elementary School, while some members of the network have called on officials to destroy the building, where the 18-year-old gunman had barricaded himself in a fourth-grade classroom where most of the sick were dying.
Sources close to the investigation said the review of law enforcement measures is a regime after a primary incident, but it has intensified in this case due to other accounts from neighbors and witnesses about what police did and when. Authorities are also awaiting the final collection of evidence at the scene and the ballistics investigation.
-Writer Tony Plohetski
More: Texas officials investigate police acted temporarily enough to arrest the shooter at uvalde school
Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex, travelled to Uvalde on Thursday to pay tribute to the victims.
An Archewell spokesperson showed Markle’s scale at the USA TODAY memorial. The spokeswoman said it was vital for her to make the holiday and presented her condolences to the Texas community.
Markle photographed Thursday at the memorial site hunting in a dark row of tombstones. In another photo, he left a bouquet of white roses at the base of one of the memorial tombstones.
Two major teams of hotels and places to eat in Austin have announced plans to make a financial contribution to relief efforts in Uvalde following the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School.
Via 313 will donate 10% of all sales from its Texas sites on Thursday to a variety of verified GoFundMe campaigns that were created for Uvalde families.
The New Waterloo hotel group, which operates about a dozen hotels and restaurants in Austin and iSanta Fe, New Mexico, announced it will donate 15% of food and beverage sales in its Austin homes to a fundraiser created through Los Verdes Austin FC. group of followers
– Writer Matthew Odam
More: Austin restaurants donate part of Thursday’s sales to Uvalde shooting relief efforts
Crowdfunding platform GoFundMe has set up a hub for others who need to donate to those directly affected by the Uvalde school shooting, and GoFundMe executives say they are racing to prevent scammers from profiting from the tragedy.
“Our thoughts are with everyone affected by the school shooting (tuesday). At GoFundMe, we work 24 hours a day to get certain families what they need,” GoFundMe said in a written statement.
GoFundMe has a fast, promoted centralized hub for verified fundraisers similar to the Robb Elementary School shooting that is updated as new fundraisers are verified. It can be found in gofundme. com/texas-elementary.
– Writer Kara Carlson
More: GoFundMe sets up a hub for verified Uvalde shooting fundraisers to avoid scams
Salud Universitaria, a hospital in San Antonio, reported in a tweet that the situation of the 4 patients in its charge since the shooting in Uvalde remained the same. The hospital reported that there are a 66-year-old woman and a 10-year-old boy there. woman in serious condition, as well as a 10-year-old woman and a 9-year-old woman in smart condition.
A fourth-grader at Robb Elementary shared his joy of surviving the school shooting in Uvalde to KEN5, a San Antonio television station.
“He shot at the door of the next door. We have a door in the middle. He opened it. He came in here and squatted down a little bit and said, he said, ‘It’s time to die,'” he said. boy remembers.
According to KEN5, the student and four other people hid the shooting under a table with a tablecloth and left the table when the shooting stopped.
“When the police arrived, the policeman said, ‘Shout if you want help!’And one of the other people in my elegance said ‘help’. The guy heard through the possibility and came in and shot him,” the boy said. “The policeman broke into this elegant hall. The guy shot the cop. And the cops fired.
He said Irma Garcia and Eva Mireles — his — saved their lives.
“They were smart teachers,” he said. They went in front of my classmates towards me. To save them.
The mother of the gunman who shot dead 19 children and two adults at a number one school in Uvalde told ABC News that her son is “not a monster” but could “be aggressive. “
“I had a sense of unease, like ‘what are you doing?'” Adriana Reyes told ABC News. It can be aggressive. . . if he actually got angry. “
The gunman, known as Salvador Ramos, an 18-year-old Uvalde resident, legally purchased two AR rifles in the past two weeks before killing 21 people.
“We all have anger, some other people have it more than others,” Reyes added.
According to ABC, Reyes did not know his son had bought the guns. He also expressed sympathy for the murdered youths and their families.
“These children,
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker responded Wednesday afternoon on Twitter to Comments by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott at a convention mentioning gun violence in Chicago.
At Uvalde High School, Abbott said there is “real” gun legislation in Chicago, yet “there are more people who are shot every weekend in Chicago than in Texas schools. “
“We want to realize that other people who think, ‘Well, if we just enforce stricter gun laws, that’s going to solve the problem. ‘Chicago, LA and New York refute this thesis,” Abbott said.
Read more: Gov. Greg Abbott says stricter gun legislation “is a genuine solution” to end mass shootings
Pritzker said Abbott was lying about Chicago and “what perpetuates gun violence. “Pritzker said most of the guns used in the Chicago shootings come from states “with lax gun laws. “
“Don’t feed the false narrative about Chicago and Illinois — it’s an excuse that politicians like you hide to prevent federal law that we want to keep guns out of the reach of harmful people,” Pritzker tweeted.
“I’m better,” Pritzker added. You have 19 young people and two teachers who deserve the best. “
As he did after several school shootings, Frank DeAngelis, the former principal of Columbine High School, expresses his solidarity with the Uvalde network and the victims.
DeAngelis told KUSA tv in Denver that he left a message for the principal of Robb Elementary School and that he could travel to Uvalde if necessary, he would also respect his space.
In 1999, two gunmen killed 12 students and an instructor at Columbine High School. According to the Washington Post, more than 311,000 students have been victims of gun violence at the school since Columbine.
DeAngelis has in the past helped form the Principal Recovery Network, an organization of principals who hope to help other school leaders after school shootings. The network can now help the principal of Robb Elementary School, he told CNN.
“These are all our young people. It doesn’t matter if they live in Texas, Colorado. They are all our young people. These senseless deaths just have to be prevented,” he told KUSA. “You know, what’s vital is that they asked me very early, ‘What are you going to do?’I said, ‘What are we going to do?’ because they are all our young people and we have to intervene as a society and say that enough is enough and that we have to prevent this.
Lillian Liao, medical director of pediatric trauma at San Antonio University Hospital, said the hospital is treating three children and the attacker’s grandmother, according to CNN. All four patients are in critical but solid condition and will continue to receive care in the coming days or weeks. , she said.
“Overall, Array. . . we were treating destructive wounds, and that meant giant tissue spaces were missing from the body, and they required emergency surgery because there was significant blood loss,” Liao told CNN.
Liao, with tears in his eyes, said the hardest component of responding to the hospital shooting was knowing that many of the patients were likely already dead.
“I think that’s what impacted us the most, not the patients won and we’re revered to treat them, yet the patients haven’t won them,” he said. “I think that’s the hardest component of our task right now. “
“Our task as a trauma center is to continue to treat the patients we have received and that is what we are going to do today,” he added.
Derrick Johnson, president and CEO of the NAACP, suggested to Gov. Greg Abbott not to attend the National Rifle Association convention that will begin Friday after the Uvalde shooting.
In a statement, Johnson said Abbott’s presence on the occasion after a gunman shot and killed 19 young men would send the message that “guns are more than the lives they represent. “He implored Abbott to “not attend” and “make the right choice. “”
“You say you don’t know the answer” to the endless and senseless shootings in schools. We have the answer: gun regulation, Johnson said. “Where to start? Skipping this week’s National Rifle Association conference.
More: NRA annual meeting in Texas is still scheduled despite the Uvalde shooting
During the shooting, bystanders suggested police move faster and attack Uvalde Elementary School, where a gunman shot and killed 19 young men and two teachers, according to The Associated Press.
Juan Carranza, who saw the scene from outside his home, said the women nearby begged officials: “Go there!Go ahead!” but they didn’t do it right away.
Javier Cazares, who arrived at Robb Elementary School while police were outside, allegedly advised other bystanders to rush into the school. The AP reported that the gunman shot and killed Cazares’ fourth-degree daughter.
“Let’s move quickly because the police are doing everything they’re supposed to do,” Cazares said, according to the AP. “More may have been done. “
More: Report of bystanders urging police to qualify in Uvalde, Texas
The front page of Uvalde Leader-Noticias, the local local newspaper where a gunman killed 21 people, is almost entirely black, with the exception of one date: May 24, 2022.
The newspaper published an article about the shooting with the headline “The Soul of the Crushed City” and images of law enforcement officials escorting young people out of school.
Families and friends mourn the loss of the 21 victims of the Uvalde school shooting. According to Reporters from the American-Statesman, the list of victims recently shown includes:
More: ‘It’s our baby’: Families share stories of those killed in Uvalde school shooting
As the last day of school and graduation ceremonies for many school districts in Central Texas, officials have beefed up law enforcement on some campuses following Tuesday’s fatal shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde.
Several districts such as Austin, Hays, Leander and Pflugerville have a higher number of officials on some campuses and for graduation ceremonies. Some districts, in addition to Leander, held graduation ceremonies on Wednesday.
Officers serving in the Austin School District’s top schools will be reassigned to elementary and high schools, district spokesman Jason Stanford said. This is in addition to general security measures, such as locking all doors and tracking threats on social media.
– Editor Nusaiba Mizan
More: Austin-area school districts increase law enforcement presence after Uvalde shooting
What you need to know Thursday: Uvalde, Texas school shooting