At least 19 children and two adults were killed when a gunman opened fire on a primary school in Texas, authorities said Tuesday. Authorities say the shooter was killed on the spot by police.
“The updated numbers they gave me have so far been told to me by 19 students, two adults, and then we have the shooter who died,” said a sergeant in the Texas Department of Public Safety. Eric Estrada told Don Lemon on CNN on Tuesday night.
Authorities said the shooter entered Rob Elementary School in Uwalde, Texas, around 11:32 a.m. local time after shooting his grandmother and crashing his car near the school. An official from the Texas Department of Public Safety said that when he entered the school, the shooter shot at “children, teachers, whoever is in his way.”
“He was shooting at everyone,” the officer said.
Variety told CNN that the grandmother has been in critical condition since Tuesday night.
The suspect, who was wearing a bulletproof vest, exchanged fire with law enforcement officers and several officers were shot, the officer said. Eventually, the suspect was fatally shot on the spot.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said the shooter was an 18-year-old man living in Uwalde, about an hour and a half west of San Antonio. He said the suspect, whom he named Salvador Ramos, abandoned his car, then entered the school with a pistol and possibly a rifle, and “horribly, incomprehensibly” opened fire.
People leave the Uwalde Civic Center after a shooting earlier in the day at Rob Elementary School on Tuesday, May 24, 2022, in Uwalde, Texas. William Luther / AP
Two law enforcement sources told CBS News that the suspect had a pistol, an AR-15 assault weapon and high-capacity cartridges.
The school educates 2nd, 3rd and 4th graders, according to Uvalde CISD Police Chief Pedro Aredondo.
Aredondo confirmed that the suspect was dead and said investigators believe he acted alone.
President Biden condemned the shooting on Tuesday night.
“I was hoping that when I became president, I wouldn’t have to do that – again,” the president said. “Another massacre. Uwalde, Texas. Primary school. Beautiful, innocent sophomores, third and fourth graders. And how many dozens of young children who witnessed what happened – see their friends die, as if on the battlefield, for God’s sake. They will live with it for the rest of their lives. ”
CBS News has learned that customs and border guards were among law enforcement officials who exchanged fire with the shooter. A CBP agent was shot in the head. This agent is hospitalized and in stable condition.
“U.S. Border Patrol agents responded to a law enforcement request for assistance in the active shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uwalde. Upon entering the building, agents and other law enforcement officers encountered gunfire from the subject who was barricaded inside. “Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman Marsha Catron Espinoza told CBS News in a statement.
A woman cries as she leaves the Uwalde Civic Center on Tuesday, May 24, 2022, in Uwalde, Texas. William Luther / AP
Uwalde Memorial Hospital said earlier that it had admitted 13 children from ambulances and buses for treatment and that two people who arrived at the hospital had died. A second hospital said it was caring for a 66-year-old woman and a 10-year-old girl, both in critical condition, a 10-year-old girl in good condition and a 9-year-old girl in good condition. Another hospital said it was caring for two adults, both in critical condition.
South Texas Blood and Tissu said it sent 15 units of blood to Uvalde on Tuesday.
At approximately 14:00 local time, the district announced that parents had received permission to take their children to the local civic center.
Pat Milton contributed to the report.
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