National

(UVALDE, Texas) — A small town in rural Texas is reeling after a gunman opened fire at an elementary school on Tuesday, killing 19 children.

Two teachers were also among those killed at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, authorities said.

Prior to opening fire at the school, the suspect also allegedly shot his grandmother, authorities said.

The suspect — identified by officials as 18-year-old Salvador Ramos, a student at Uvalde High School — is dead.

Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:

May 25, 12:19 pm
Texas state senator urges Congress to pass assault weapons control

Texas state Sen. Roland Gutierrez called on lawmakers to act on gun control, specifically calling on them to look into an assault weapons ban at the federal level, in an interview on ABC News Live Wednesday.

“We have to make sure that we’re creating laws in the state of Texas, as well as at the federal level, so that we can stop access to these types of militarized weapons,” Gutierrez said on ABC News Live.

“I know my district — there’s nobody in this district that goes hunting with an AR-15,” Gutierrez said, referring to the assault weapon the alleged shooter had purchased two days before the shooting.

Gutierrez called on the U.S. Senate to break the filibuster and pass legislation in order to stop seeing “these types of militarized weapons.”

“We have young, confused men, young men violating lives across this country and violating families across this country.”

He added, “It is high time that we do something. My heart goes out to the people in my community here in the valley, but we’ve got to take that to another level and do something now. Because if we can’t do something, then what are we? What are we sending people off to Washington for? What are we sending people up to Austin for? We’ve got to do more.”

May 25, 11:50 am
Gun violence is a ‘plague upon this nation,’ Sen. Chuck Schumer says

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer gave a passionate speech on the Senate floor Wednesday, calling gun violence “a plague upon this nation.”

“The problem in the Senate is simple too many members on the other side of the aisle are disconnected from the suffering of the American people, too many members on that side care more about the NRA than they do about families who grieve victims of gun violence,” Schumer said.

Schumer criticized Republicans for their opposition to gun control legislation.

“Republicans don’t pretend that they support sensible gun safety legislation. They don’t pretend to be moved by the fact that 90% of Americans, regardless of party, support something as common sense as background checks,” Schumer said.

Schumer said he aches for the families of those killed in Texas and urged Republicans to act “for the sake of these children.”

“To my Republican colleagues: Imagine if it happened to you. Imagine if this was your kid or your grandkid. How would you feel? Could you ever forgive yourself for not supporting a simple law that would make these mass shootings less likely? Please, please, please dammit. Put yourself in the shoes of these parents for once,” Schumer said.

-ABC News’ Trish Turner

May 25, 10:31 am
6 people injured in shooting remain hospitalized

Six people injured in the Texas elementary school shooting remain hospitalized on Wednesday.

Three children and one adult are at the University Hospital in San Antonio, two of whom are in serious condition. Two other adults are hospitalized at Brooke Army Medical Center, both in critical condition.

All patients treated at Uvalde Medical Center have been discharged. The hospital said it treated 15 individuals, 11 of whom were children. Three of those 11 children were transferred to other hospitals in San Antonio and eight were discharged home.

The four remaining patients were adults, one was transferred to another hospital and three were discharged home.

-ABC News’ Jennifer Watts

May 25, 10:16 am
Texas governor to hold press conference at 1:30 p.m. ET

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott will hold a press conference Wednesday at 1:30 p.m. ET to discuss the state’s response to the Robb Elementary School shooting.

The governor will be joined by state officials including Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, Texas state House Speaker Dade Phelan, U.S. Sens. John Cornyn and Ted Cruz and U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzalez.

May 25, 9:16 am
Gunman’s grandfather says he was unaware the suspect purchased weapons

Rolando Reyes, 72, the gunman’s grandfather, told ABC News he had no idea his grandson had purchased two AR-15-style rifles or that they were in his house.

Since Reyes is a felon, it is illegal for him to live in a house with firearms. Reyes said he would have turned his grandson in.

Reyes said there were no signs the morning of the shooting that anything unusual was going to happen. The suspect had a minor argument with his grandmother over the payment of a phone bill, but nothing significant.

The suspect lived in a front room and slept on a mattress on the floor, according to Reyes. The suspect had been staying with his grandparents after having a falling out with his mother.

Reyes said he took the suspect to work sometimes and that he was very quiet, but he did not seem violent. Reyes also said he tried to encourage his grandson to go to school but the suspect would typically just shrug in response.

Reyes said the suspect did not know how to drive and did not have a driver’s license. Reyes also wondered how his grandson would have even gone to purchase the weapons or if he trained on the weapons, saying someone must have taken him there.

The suspect’s grandmother, who he shot in the forehead, is undergoing surgery on Wednesday. Reyes said he believes she will survive.

May 25, 8:43 am
Shooter purchased two rifles within eight days of turning 18 this month

Salvador Ramos, the suspect in the Robb Elementary School shooting, after turning 18 on May 16, purchased two rifles and carried out the second-worst school shooting in U.S. history within the span of eight days, according to multiple law enforcement officials.

The suspect purchased two AR-15-style rifles on May 22, two days before the massacre and six days after his birthday, multiple law enforcement officials told ABC News. They were legal purchases.

Once the shooter made entry into a classroom he barricaded himself and opened fire, according to the sources.

Officers from the Uvalde Police Department and agents from Customs and Border Protection entered into the classroom and immediately took fire from the gunman before they shot and killed him.

Investigators are going through the ballistics to determine who fired the fatal shot.

May 25, 6:46 am
Ukrainian president offers condolences to families of the victims

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy offered his condolences to the families of the victims of the shooting on Twitter.

“Deeply saddened by the news of the murder of innocent children in Texas. Sincere condolences to the families of the victims, the people of the US and @POTUS over this tragedy,” Zelenskyy said in a tweet.

Zelenskyy added: “The people of Ukraine share the pain of the relatives and friends of the victims and all Americans.”

May 25, 5:24 am
Matthew McConaughey calls for action after shooting

Actor Matthew McConaughey decried the shooting in his hometown of Uvalde, Texas.

“We have tragically proven that we are failing to be responsible for the rights our freedoms grant us,” he wrote in a statement on Twitter.

“We cannot exhale once again, make excuses, and accept these tragic realities as the status quo,” he said.

Uvalde, Texas, USA. pic.twitter.com/0iULRGtREm

— Matthew McConaughey (@McConaughey) May 25, 2022

May 25, 4:55 am
Amanda Gorman pens poem about shooting

The 24-year-old National Youth Poet Laureate took to Twitter following the tragedy to share a poem.

Schools scared to death.
The truth is, one education under desks,
Stooped low from bullets;
That plunge when we ask
Where our children
Shall live
& how
& if

— Amanda Gorman (@TheAmandaGorman) May 24, 2022

She also posted a series of tweets on gun violence.

“It takes a monster to kill children,” she wrote. “But to watch monsters kill children again and again and do nothing isn’t just insanity — it’s inhumanity.”

For full coverage, click here.

May 25, 4:55 am
Biden addresses ‘horrific’ mass shooting

President Joe Biden addressed the nation Tuesday night following the mass shooting in Texas — not even two weeks after he mourned victims of the mass shooting in Buffalo, New York.

“I’d hoped, when I became president, I would not have to do this again,” Biden said. “Another massacre. Uvalde, Texas. An elementary school. Beautiful, second-, third-, fourth-graders.”

“As a nation, we have to ask when in God’s name are we going to stand up to the gun lobby,” he said. “I am sick and tired of it — we have to act.”

For full coverage, click here.

May 25, 4:55 am
Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy pleads with lawmakers after shooting

Connecticut Democrat Chris Murphy gave an impassioned argument on the Senate floor to his colleagues late Tuesday afternoon, hours after 21 were killed in the mass shooting.

“What are we doing?” Murphy asked the chamber. “There have been more mass shootings than days in the year.”

“Our kids are living in fear every single time they set foot in the classroom because they think they’re going to be next. What are we doing?” he asked.

Sen. Chris Murphy delivers remarks on Uvalde, Texas elementary school shooting: “What are we doing? What are we doing?…This only happens in this country and nowhere else. Nowhere else do little kids go to school thinking that they might be shot that day.” https://t.co/Zh3OvUaIwm pic.twitter.com/TjJVoaFbRN

— ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) May 24, 2022

For Murphy’s remarks and full coverage, click here.

May 25, 4:55 am
What we know about the victims

A fourth-grade teacher and a 10-year-old boy were among those killed, ABC News has learned.

The teacher, Eva Mireles, had worked in the school district for approximately 17 years, her aunt, Lydia Martinez Delgado, confirmed to ABC News.

Fourth-grader Xavier Lopez was among the 19 children killed.

For full coverage, click here.

May 25, 4:55 am
What we know about the shooting so far

At least 21 people are dead after a gunman opened fire in Uvalde on Tuesday, authorities said.

Most of the victims were children in their last week of school before the summer break. Many other students and adults were injured in the mass shooting.

Here’s what we know about what unfolded so far.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(UVALDE, Texas) — The suspect in the Robb Elementary School shooting, Salvador Ramos, turned 18, purchased two rifles and carried out the second-worst school shooting in U.S. history — all within a span of eight days, authorities said.

He also sent messages on social media in recent days with images of firearms, according to screenshots of alleged messages being reviewed by law enforcement as well as a user who received direct messages from the alleged shooter.

Prior to recent days, the shooter exhibited unusual behavior such as threatening classmates and claiming to have cut scars into his face, his classmates at Uvalde High School told ABC News.

The shooter’s classmates told ABC News the suspect was known for fighting and threatening fellow students.

Nathan Romo, who said he was once friends with Ramos, told ABC News the suspect once threatened to kill him.

“I used to be his friend, and I told him I was going to stop being his friend because he was being weird with not only me but with a lot of other people,” Romo said.

Several other classmates told ABC News the shooter rarely went to school and when he did, he sometimes frightened other students.

“He had scars on his face and I remember somebody asking him ‘what happened, are you okay?’ ‘Cause he showed up to school with them and he just straight out told them — with a smile — I did them myself cause I like how it looks,” Yarelli Vasquez, one of the suspect’s classmates, told ABC News.

Investigators are looking over the suspect’s social media accounts, where he allegedly left disturbing social media posts, and reportedly sent videos and photos of guns and images of animal abuse to other users.

Since the attack, law enforcement is also reviewing screenshots of alleged messages from the suspect to one Instagram user, who posted them publicly on her account after the shooting.

As recently as Tuesday morning, an Instagram account that law enforcement sources told ABC News they believe is connected to the shooter, sent another user on the social media platform a photo of a gun laying on a bed, according to a user who shared direct messages from the suspect’s alleged account with ABC News.

An individual who said they knew the accused gunman through the social media platform Yubo, told ABC News that the suspect had turned on his video last week on the platform and showed himself with guns.

On Monday, the individual said, the shooter was on the platform making statements including “wait till tomorrow.”

“No one took him seriously,” another user told ABC News.

The shooter legally purchased two AR-15-style long guns within a week of his 18th birthday, authorities told ABC News.

The suspect began by shooting his grandmother before heading to the school, according to police. She is in critical condition.

The suspect crashed a car belonging to his grandparents outside Robb Elementary School, according to multiple law enforcement officials. The suspect did not know how to drive and did not have a driver’s license, his grandfather told ABC News.

The suspect emerged from the car with an AR-15-style rifle and was immediately engaged outside the building by law enforcement. The suspect shot an officer, sources told ABC News.

The suspect, wearing body armor, proceeded inside the school through the south doors where he opened fire, killing at least 19 students, who were mainly third and fourth graders, and two teachers, according to sources.

Inside, the suspect traded fire with law enforcement.

Law enforcement officials recovered the AR-15-style rifle that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is now tracing. They also recovered the body armor and numerous magazines.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(UVALDE, Texas) — A small town in rural Texas is reeling after a gunman opened fire at an elementary school on Tuesday, killing 19 children.

Two teachers were also among those killed at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, authorities said.

Prior to opening fire at the school, the suspect also allegedly shot his grandmother, authorities said.

The suspect — identified by officials as 18-year-old Salvador Ramos, a student at Uvalde High School — is dead.

Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:

May 25, 8:43 am
Shooter purchased two rifles within eight days of turning 18 this month

Salvador Ramos, the suspect in the Robb Elementary School shooting, after turning 18 on May 16, purchased two rifles and carried out the second-worst school shooting in U.S. history within the span of eight days, according to multiple law enforcement officials.

The suspect purchased two AR-15-style rifles on May 22, two days before the massacre and six days after his birthday, multiple law enforcement officials told ABC News. They were legal purchases.

Once the shooter made entry into a classroom he barricaded himself and opened fire, according to the sources.

Officers from the Uvalde Police Department and agents from Customs and Border Protection entered into the classroom and immediately took fire from the gunman before they shot and killed him.

Investigators are going through the ballistics to determine who fired the fatal shot.

May 25, 6:46 am
Ukrainian president offers condolences to families of the victims

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy offered his condolences to the families of the victims of the shooting on Twitter.

“Deeply saddened by the news of the murder of innocent children in Texas. Sincere condolences to the families of the victims, the people of the US and @POTUS over this tragedy,” Zelenskyy said in a tweet.

Zelenskyy added: “The people of Ukraine share the pain of the relatives and friends of the victims and all Americans.”

May 25, 5:24 am
Matthew McConaughey calls for action after shooting

Actor Matthew McConaughey decried the shooting in his hometown of Uvalde, Texas.

“We have tragically proven that we are failing to be responsible for the rights our freedoms grant us,” he wrote in a statement on Twitter.

“We cannot exhale once again, make excuses, and accept these tragic realities as the status quo,” he said.

Uvalde, Texas, USA. pic.twitter.com/0iULRGtREm

— Matthew McConaughey (@McConaughey) May 25, 2022

May 25, 4:55 am
Amanda Gorman pens poem about shooting

The 24-year-old National Youth Poet Laureate took to Twitter following the tragedy to share a poem.

Schools scared to death.
The truth is, one education under desks,
Stooped low from bullets;
That plunge when we ask
Where our children
Shall live
& how
& if

— Amanda Gorman (@TheAmandaGorman) May 24, 2022

She also posted a series of tweets on gun violence.

“It takes a monster to kill children,” she wrote. “But to watch monsters kill children again and again and do nothing isn’t just insanity — it’s inhumanity.”

For full coverage, click here.

May 25, 4:55 am
Biden addresses ‘horrific’ mass shooting

President Joe Biden addressed the nation Tuesday night following the mass shooting in Texas — not even two weeks after he mourned victims of the mass shooting in Buffalo, New York.

“I’d hoped, when I became president, I would not have to do this again,” Biden said. “Another massacre. Uvalde, Texas. An elementary school. Beautiful, second-, third-, fourth-graders.”

“As a nation, we have to ask when in God’s name are we going to stand up to the gun lobby,” he said. “I am sick and tired of it — we have to act.”

For full coverage, click here.

May 25, 4:55 am
Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy pleads with lawmakers after shooting

Connecticut Democrat Chris Murphy gave an impassioned argument on the Senate floor to his colleagues late Tuesday afternoon, hours after 21 were killed in the mass shooting.

“What are we doing?” Murphy asked the chamber. “There have been more mass shootings than days in the year.”

“Our kids are living in fear every single time they set foot in the classroom because they think they’re going to be next. What are we doing?” he asked.

Sen. Chris Murphy delivers remarks on Uvalde, Texas elementary school shooting: “What are we doing? What are we doing?…This only happens in this country and nowhere else. Nowhere else do little kids go to school thinking that they might be shot that day.” https://t.co/Zh3OvUaIwm pic.twitter.com/TjJVoaFbRN

— ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) May 24, 2022

For Murphy’s remarks and full coverage, click here.

May 25, 4:55 am
What we know about the victims

A fourth-grade teacher and a 10-year-old boy were among those killed, ABC News has learned.

The teacher, Eva Mireles, had worked in the school district for approximately 17 years, her aunt, Lydia Martinez Delgado, confirmed to ABC News.

Fourth-grader Xavier Lopez was among the 19 children killed.

For full coverage, click here.

May 25, 4:55 am
What we know about the shooting so far

At least 21 people are dead after a gunman opened fire in Uvalde on Tuesday, authorities said.

Most of the victims were children in their last week of school before the summer break. Many other students and adults were injured in the mass shooting.

Here’s what we know about what unfolded so far.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(UVALDE, Texas) — A small town in rural Texas is reeling after a gunman opened fire at an elementary school on Tuesday, killing 19 children.

Two teachers were also among those killed at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, authorities said.

Prior to opening fire at the school, the suspect also allegedly shot his grandmother, authorities said.

The suspect — identified by officials as 18-year-old Salvador Ramos, a student at Uvalde High School — is dead.

Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:

May 25, 6:46 am
Ukrainian president offers condolences to families of the victims

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy offered his condolences to the families of the victims of the shooting on Twitter.

“Deeply saddened by the news of the murder of innocent children in Texas. Sincere condolences to the families of the victims, the people of the US and @POTUS over this tragedy,” Zelenskyy said in a tweet.

Zelenskyy added: “The people of Ukraine share the pain of the relatives and friends of the victims and all Americans.”

May 25, 5:24 am
Matthew McConaughey calls for action after shooting

Actor Matthew McConaughey decried the shooting in his hometown of Uvalde, Texas.

“We have tragically proven that we are failing to be responsible for the rights our freedoms grant us,” he wrote in a statement on Twitter.

“We cannot exhale once again, make excuses, and accept these tragic realities as the status quo,” he said.

Uvalde, Texas, USA. pic.twitter.com/0iULRGtREm

— Matthew McConaughey (@McConaughey) May 25, 2022

May 25, 4:55 am
Amanda Gorman pens poem about shooting

The 24-year-old National Youth Poet Laureate took to Twitter following the tragedy to share a poem.

Schools scared to death.
The truth is, one education under desks,
Stooped low from bullets;
That plunge when we ask
Where our children
Shall live
& how
& if

— Amanda Gorman (@TheAmandaGorman) May 24, 2022

She also posted a series of tweets on gun violence.

“It takes a monster to kill children,” she wrote. “But to watch monsters kill children again and again and do nothing isn’t just insanity — it’s inhumanity.”

For full coverage, click here.

May 25, 4:55 am
Biden addresses ‘horrific’ mass shooting

President Joe Biden addressed the nation Tuesday night following the mass shooting in Texas — not even two weeks after he mourned victims of the mass shooting in Buffalo, New York.

“I’d hoped, when I became president, I would not have to do this again,” Biden said. “Another massacre. Uvalde, Texas. An elementary school. Beautiful, second-, third-, fourth-graders.”

“As a nation, we have to ask when in God’s name are we going to stand up to the gun lobby,” he said. “I am sick and tired of it — we have to act.”

For full coverage, click here.

May 25, 4:55 am
Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy pleads with lawmakers after shooting

Connecticut Democrat Chris Murphy gave an impassioned argument on the Senate floor to his colleagues late Tuesday afternoon, hours after 21 were killed in the mass shooting.

“What are we doing?” Murphy asked the chamber. “There have been more mass shootings than days in the year.”

“Our kids are living in fear every single time they set foot in the classroom because they think they’re going to be next. What are we doing?” he asked.

For Murphy’s remarks and full coverage, click here.

May 25, 4:55 am
What we know about the victims

A fourth-grade teacher and a 10-year-old boy were among those killed, ABC News has learned.

The teacher, Eva Mireles, had worked in the school district for approximately 17 years, her aunt, Lydia Martinez Delgado, confirmed to ABC News.

Fourth-grader Xavier Lopez was among the 19 children killed.

For full coverage, click here.

May 25, 4:55 am
What we know about the shooting so far

At least 21 people are dead after a gunman opened fire in Uvalde on Tuesday, authorities said.

Most of the victims were children in their last week of school before the summer break. Many other students and adults were injured in the mass shooting.

Here’s what we know about what unfolded so far.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(UVALDE, Texas) — At least 19 children and two teachers are dead after a shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas on Tuesday, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety — an incident that President Joe Biden decried as “carnage” in a call for lawmakers “to act.”

The tragedy in Uvalde, about 90 minutes west of San Antonio, comes just days after another deadly mass shooting in Buffalo, New York and amid a rapid rise in active shooter incidents in the country.

“When parents drop their kids off at school, they have every expectation to know that they’re going to be able to pick their child up when that school day ends. And there are families who are in mourning right now,” said Texas Gov. Greg Abbott.

“The state of Texas is in mourning with them for the reality that these parents are not going to be able to pick up their children,” he added.

The students killed were mainly third- and fourth-graders, according to law enforcement sources. Among them was Amerie jo Garza, who just celebrated her 10th birthday two weeks ago, according to her father, Angel.

“My little love is now flying high with the angels above,” he wrote in a statement to ABC News. “Please don’t take a second for granted. Hug your family. Tell them you love them. I love you Amerie jo.”

The 18-year-old suspect, Salvador Ramos, a student at Uvalde High School, is also dead, Abbott said, adding that Ramos “shot and killed horrifically and incomprehensibly.”

Sources said that the gunman first shot his grandmother at a separate scene. Authorities initially said the grandmother was killed but later said she was in critical condition.

Then he crashed his car outside of the school and emerged with an AR-15-style rifle, according to multiple law enforcement sources. Authorities have recovered the rifle, body armor the suspect was wearing and numerous magazines, sources said.

The suspect was immediately engaged outside the building as he approached the school by a Uvalde Independent School District police officer, who was shot by the suspect, the sources said.

After that, the suspect entered the school and allegedly opened fire, killing 18 students, who were mainly third- and fourth-graders, as well as one teacher, the sources said.

There, he traded gunfire with Uvalde ISD officer and Border Patrol Tactical Unit agents, a number of whom have children who attend the school, according to the sources. The Border Patrol agents responded to a law enforcement request for assistance.

A fourth-grade student who was inside the school at the time described the horror of the shooting in an interview with ABC News. He said the students heard banging on a window and then the teacher saw the shooter.

“She said, ‘Oh, my God, there’s a there’s a gun.’ And then she she said it was like a big one like that a big gun — she said, hurry up and get on the floor,” the student recounted. “We just hear all kinds of gunshots going off, like nonstop, like constantly gunshots. And then we’re over here all scared. What — on the ground fearing for our lives.”

Two responding police officers were among those injured, Abbott said. They are expected to survive, he said. One of the Border Patrol agents sustained injuries while trying to protect students and is at the hospital recovering, Del Rio Sector Chief Jason D. Owens told ABC News.

Uvalde Memorial Hospital initially received 13 children as patients. Two of them died and three were transferred to San Antonio for treatment, the hospital said. The conditions of the others was not immediately clear. A 45-year-old was also hospitalized after getting grazed by a bullet, the hospital said.

University Health in San Antonio said it had four patients from the shooting incident — three students and an adult woman. A 66-year-old woman and 10-year-old girl were in critical condition.

Two adult victims of the shooting, both in critical condition, are also being treated at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, according to an Army official.

A number of the shooting victims are children of Customs and Border Patrol agents, law enforcement sources told ABC News.

Earlier, the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District had said a shooter was located at Robb Elementary School and asked people to stay away from the area.

“There is an active shooter at Robb Elementary,” the school district said on Twitter. “Law enforcement is on site. Your cooperation is needed at this time by not visiting the campus. As soon as more information is gathered it will be shared.”

The shooting occurred shortly after 11:30 a.m. local time, police said.

The school, which has students in the second, third and fourth grades, informed parents shortly after 2 p.m. that students had been transported to the Sgt. Willie Deleon Civic Center, the reunification site, and could be picked up.

Parent Ryan Ramirez told San Antonio ABC affiliate KSAT-TV he had gone to the civic center and the elementary school trying to find his fourth grade daughter in the wake of the shooting.

“[I’m] just confused and worried. I’m trying to find out where my baby’s at,” he told the station.

The Houston Field Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives also said it is assisting in the investigation.

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas has been briefed on the situation and the agency “is actively coordinating with federal, state, and local partners,” a spokesperson said. Customs and Border Protection officials in the area also responded to the scene.

The National Counterterrorism Operations Center believes there is “no known terrorism nexus” at this time, according to a law enforcement bulletin obtained by ABC News.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(WASHINGTON) — Every single mass shooting in America is not just a tragedy, Connecticut Democrat Chris Murphy said, it is a political — a moral — failing by the country’s leaders who must choose anew after each killing to do nothing about the violence.

That was Murphy’s impassioned argument on the Senate floor to his colleagues late Tuesday afternoon, hours after authorities said an 18-year-old gunman fatally shot at least 18 students and a teacher at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas.

“What are we doing?” Murphy asked the chamber, repeating the question several times throughout his speech, for dramatic effect. “There have been more mass shootings than days in the year,” he said. “Our kids are living in fear every single time they set foot in the classroom because they think they’re going to be next. What are we doing?”

Little more than week had passed since a suspected white supremacist was accused of killing 10 shoppers at a supermarket in Buffalo, New York, Murphy said. “Just days after a shooter walked into a grocery store to gun down African-American patrons, we have another Sandy Hook on our hands.”

And so again he asked: “What are we doing?”

“Why do you spend all this time running for the United States Senate? Why do you go through all the hassle of getting this job, of putting yourself in a position of authority? If your answer is that as this slaughter increases as our kids run for their lives, we do nothing — what are we doing? Why are you here if not to solve a problem as existential as this?”

Murphy, the lead Democratic negotiator on so many stalled legislative solutions to gun violence, has become perhaps Congress most outspoken voice on the continued toll of shootings across the country; he was motivated to take up this cause by the killings of Sandy Hook elementary school children in his home state in 2012.

He has urged — and continued to urge — action on the issue even as it has become increasingly polarizing in Congress, where conservatives have little appetite to enact new bills.

In his speech on Tuesday, Murphy invoked the trauma for the surviving Sandy Hook children: “They had to adopt a practice in which there would be a safe word that the kids would say if they started to get thoughts in their brain about what they saw that day, [if] they started to get nightmares during the day, reliving stepping over their classmates’ bodies as they tried to flee the school.”

“Sandy Hook will never ever be the same,” Murphy said. “This community in Texas will never ever be the same.”

And so again he asked: “Why? Why are we here — if not to try to make sure that fewer schools and fear communities go through what Sandy Hook has gone through, what Uvalde is going through?”

There were legislative solutions, Murphy told his fellow senators. There had to be, he said.

“Our heart is breaking for these families,” he said. “Every ounce of love and thoughts and prayers we can send we are sending I’m here on this floor to beg to literally get down on my hands and knees and beg my colleagues find a path forward here. Work with us to find a way to pass laws that make this less likely.”

“I understand my Republican colleagues will not agree to everything that I may support,” he continued, “but there is a common denominator that we can find. There is a place where we can achieve agreement.”

The latest episode of mass gun violence has prompted a familiar timeline of events among politicians: With the president set to address the nation, various lawmakers have spoken out to share their grief and horror and suggest that there be come future bipartisan compromise to reduce gun violence.

Past efforts to enact such legislation, on various scales of reform, have all died in Congress.

In addition to Sen. Murphy, Texas’ congressional delegation began speaking out on Tuesday in the hours after the killings.

John Cornyn, a leading Republican in the Senate and a Houston native, has been at the center of discussions about gun violence that have failed — including background checks reform. He told reporters on Tuesday he was headed back to Texas after his own floor speech and was being briefed by officials, including the Uvalde mayor.

“We’re still trying to get a clearer picture of what’s going on what happened and what the motivation was But it’s clearly horrible,” Cornyn said.

Democrats Jessica Cisneros and Henry Cuellar, who are competing in a runoff election on Tuesday for a South Texas congressional seat, issued statements of their own.

“This is a devastating tragedy,” Cisneros wrote on Twitter. “How many more mass shootings do children have to experience before we say enough? Sending my condolences to the children and families in Uvalde who are experiencing this unthinkable tragedy.”

Cuellar said he was “heartbroken” and urged the public to come together to support the community.

Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz also spoke on the Senate floor, standing in sharp contrast to Murphy’s emotional appeal.

“Inevitably when there’s a murderer of this kind, you see politicians try to politicize it, you see Democrats and a lot of folks in the media whose immediate solution is to try to restrict the constitutional rights of law abiding citizens,” he said.

ABC News’ Alexandra Hutzler contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(UVALDE, Texas) — At least 18 children and two adults are dead after a shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, on Tuesday, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety.

The 18-year-old suspect, a student at Uvalde High School, is also dead, Gov. Greg Abbott said.

Abbott said the suspect “shot and killed horrifically and incomprehensibly” more than a dozen students and a teacher.

The suspect also allegedly shot and killed his grandmother before entering the school and again opening fire.

The shooter was identified by law enforcement sources and the governor as Salvador Ramos. Authorities have recovered an AR-15-style rifle and numerous magazines, multiple law enforcement sources told ABC News.

“When parents drop their kids off at school, they have every expectation to know that they’re going to be able to pick their child up when that school day ends. And there are families who are in mourning right now,” Abbott said. “The state of Texas is in mourning with them for the reality that these parents are not going to be able to pick up their children.”

Two responding police officers were among those injured, Abbott said. They are expected to survive, he said.

Uvalde Memorial Hospital had said 15 students were being treated in the hospital’s emergency department in the wake of the incident. Two patients were transferred to San Antonio for treatment, while a third was pending transfer, the hospital said. A 45-year-old was also hospitalized after getting grazed by a bullet, the hospital said.

University Health in San Antonio said it had two patients from the shooting incident — a 66-year-old woman and a 10-year-old girl — both in critical condition.

Two adult victims of the shooting, both in critical condition, are also being treated at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, according to an Army official.

A number of the shooting victims are children of Customs and Border Patrol agents, law enforcement sources told ABC News.

Uvalde Mayor Don McLaughlin did not confirm casualties, but told ABC News in a text message that “this is a very bad situation.” He said the office is trying to contact parents before releasing any information.

Earlier, the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District had said a shooter was located at Robb Elementary School and asked people to stay away from the area.

“There is an active shooter at Robb Elementary,” the school district said on Twitter. “Law enforcement is on site. Your cooperation is needed at this time by not visiting the campus. As soon as more information is gathered it will be shared.”

A school official initially told ABC News that the shooting took place off campus, and that Robb Elementary School was under lockdown.

The shooting occurred shortly after 11:30 a.m. local time, police said.

The school, which has students in the second, third and fourth grades, informed parents shortly after 2 p.m. that students had been transported to the Sgt. Willie Deleon Civic Center, the reunification site, and could be picked up.

Parent Ryan Ramirez told San Antonio ABC affiliate KSAT he had gone to the civic center and the elementary school trying to find his fourth grade daughter in the wake of the shooting.

“[I’m] just confused and worried. I’m trying to find out where my baby’s at,” he told the station.

The Bexar County Sheriff’s Office and San Antonio Police Department are sending aid, and the FBI is responding.

The Houston Field Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives also said it is assisting in the investigation.

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas has been briefed on the situation and the agency “is actively coordinating with federal, state, and local partners,” a spokesperson said. Customs and Border Protection officials in the area also responded to the scene.

The National Counterterrorism Operations Center believes there is “no known terrorism nexus” at this time, according to a law enforcement bulletin obtained by ABC News.

ABC News’ Pierre Thomas, Luke Barr, Aaron Katersky, Nicholas Kerr and Mireya Villarreal contributed to this report.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(UVALDE, Texas) — A fourth-grade teacher was among those killed in a mass shooting at a Texas elementary school on Tuesday, ABC News has learned.

At least 14 children were also killed after a gunman opened fire at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, west of San Antonio, Gov. Greg Abbott said.

The alleged gunman — identified by officials as 18-year-old Salvador Ramos, a student at Uvalde High School — is dead, authorities said.

“When parents drop their kids off at school, they have every expectation to know that they’re going to be able to pick their child up when that school day ends. And there are families who are in mourning right now,” Abbott told reporters.

Here’s what we know about the victims so far.

Eva Mireles

Eva Mireles, a fourth-grade teacher at the elementary school, was killed in the shooting, her aunt, Lydia Martinez Delgado, confirmed to ABC News. She had been a teacher in the school district for approximately 17 years, Delgado said.

“I’m furious that these shooting continue. These children are innocent. Rifles should not be easily available to all,” Delgado said. “This is my hometown, a small community of less then 20,000. I never imagined this would happen to especially to loved ones.”

“All we can do is pray hard for our country, state, schools and especially the families of all,” she said.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(OXFORD, Mich.) — Victims and families of victims of the November Oxford school shooting in Michigan filed a lawsuit against the Oxford school district and school administrators, accusing them of violating legally mandated school safety policies and of violating students’ constitutional rights.

The lawsuit accused administrators of failing to notify law enforcement of the actions of the accused shooter leading up to the shooting.

Administrators named in the lawsuit include Superintendent Timothy Throne, principal Steven Wolf, dean of students Nicholas Ejak, student counselor Shawn Hopkins, Superintendent Kenneth Weaver and four teachers, including the teacher who caught the alleged shooter looking at ammunition for his gun online while in class.

The lawsuit was jointly filed by the parents of Justin Shilling and Tate Myre, who were killed in the shooting, and representatives for four minors who were injured in the shooting.

The lawsuit alleges that accused school shooter Ethan Crumbley had exhibited “concerning behavior that indicated psychiatric distress, suicidal or homicidal tendencies and the possibility of child abuse and neglect.”

On Nov. 11, weeks before the shooting, Crumbley brought a severed bird’s head to the Oxford high school and placed it in the boy’s bathroom. While other students found and reported it, school administrators including the principal and district administrators concealed this information from staff and parents, the lawsuit alleges.

The lawsuit alleges that the school administration sent an email to parents on Nov. 12 telling them they have reviewed concerns they received and they have investigated all information provided to them and deemed there had been “no threat to our building nor our students.”

Several parents raised concerns about the threats to students made on social media and about multiple severed animal heads at the school to the principal on or around Nov. 16, the lawsuit alleges. But, the school district dismissed concerns raised by students and parents as “not credible,” according to the lawsuit.

Wolf, the principal, sent parents an email confirming that there was no threat at the school and assumptions made on social media “were merely exaggerated rumors,” the lawsuit alleges.

The lawsuit claims other students saw Crumbley with shell casings and live ammunition rounds one day before the shooting.

The suit also accuses one of the teachers, Pam Parker Fine, of violating the law by failing to contact child protective services, as required, in response to her being presented with evidence that Crumbley was researching ammunition in class and the refusal of Crumbley’s parents to respond to her call. The lawsuit alleges she was required to notify police, specifically the high school’s liaison officer, of the possibility that Crumbley was a victim of child abuse and neglect and posed a risk to himself and others.

Jacqueline Kubina, a second teacher named in the suit who found Crumbley looking up ammunition in class, is also accused of violating the law by failing to report it to law enforcement.

The suit also alleges that Ejak, the dean of students, and Hopkins, a student counselor, failed to search Crumbley’s backpack or have local law enforcement search it the day of the shooting despite having “reasonable cause to do so.” This was after teachers had found his drawings, including a drawing of people with gunshot wounds and text next to it saying, “The thoughts won’t stop. Help me.”

The school had called Crumbley’s parents to the school to address the issue the morning of the shooting, but the Crumbley parents refused to take their child home. Hopkins had warned them the morning of the shooting that if they did not take Crumbley to counseling within 48 hours he would be “following up,” the lawsuit alleged.

The lawsuit alleged Crumbley’s parents refusing to address the issue was evidence of child abuse and neglect, which the dean of students and student counselor were legally required to report, but they did not.

Ejak and Hopkins “deliberately” conducted the meeting with Crumbley and his parents without the safety liaison officer or other local law enforcement, “preventing a proper and through investigation and lawful search of Crumbley’s backpack, which would have prevented this tragedy,” the lawsuit alleged.

The defendants’ actions were “reckless” and put the lives of the victims “at substantial risk of serious and immediate harm,” the lawsuit alleged. The lawsuit claimed that due to the school and district administrators’ knowledge before the shooting began, “it was foreseeable that [Crumbley] would carry out such acts of violence.”

The lawsuit also alleged that the district violated the victims’ constitutional right to be free from danger.

“While this new lawsuit won’t remedy the pain and suffering these families have gone through, it will certainly hold the school district and its officials accountable for their role in not properly supervising and training teachers and counselors, who have an obligation to ensure students remain safe,” said Ven Johnson, an attorney for the plaintiffs, in a statement.

Lawyers are requesting damages in addition to interest, costs and attorneys’ fees, as well as punitive and/or exemplary damages.

“With the alarming number of red flags and desperate cries for help that Ethan’s parents, teachers, counselors and administrators all somehow missed, this mass shooting absolutely could and should have been prevented,” Johnson said.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(UVALDE, Texas) — Fourteen students and a teacher are dead after a shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, on Tuesday, according to Gov. Greg Abbott.

The 18-year-old suspect, a student at Uvalde High School, is also dead, he said.

“He shot and killed horrifically and incomprehensibly 14 students and killed a teacher,” Abbott said during an unrelated press briefing.

The suspect also allegedly shot and killed his grandmother before entering the school and again opening fire.

Abbott said the shooter — identified by law enforcement sources and the governor as Salvador Ramos — had a handgun and also possibly a rifle.

“When parents drop their kids off at school, they have every expectation to know that they’re going to be able to pick their child up when that school day ends. And there are families who are in mourning right now,” Abbott said. “The state of Texas is in mourning with them for the reality that these parents are not going to be able to pick up their children.”

Two responding police officers were among those injured, Abbott said. They are expected to survive, he said.

Uvalde Memorial Hospital had said 15 students were being treated in the hospital’s emergency department in the wake of the incident. Two patients were transferred to San Antonio for treatment, while a third was pending transfer, the hospital said. A 45-year-old was also hospitalized after getting grazed by a bullet, the hospital said.

University Health in San Antonio said it had two patients from the shooting incident — a 66-year-old woman and a 10-year-old girl — both in critical condition.

Two adult victims of the shooting, both in critical condition, are also being treated at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, according to an Army official.

A number of the shooting victims are children of Customs and Border Patrol agents, law enforcement sources told ABC News.

Uvalde Mayor Don McLaughlin did not confirm casualties, but told ABC News in a text message that “this is a very bad situation.” He said the office is trying to contact parents before releasing any information.

Earlier, the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District had said a shooter was located at Robb Elementary School and asked people to stay away from the area.

“There is an active shooter at Robb Elementary,” the school district said on Twitter. “Law enforcement is on site. Your cooperation is needed at this time by not visiting the campus. As soon as more information is gathered it will be shared.”

A school official initially told ABC News that the shooting took place off campus, and that Robb Elementary School was under lockdown.

The shooting occurred shortly after 11:30 a.m. local time, police said.

The school, which has students in the second, third and fourth grades, informed parents shortly after 2 p.m. that students had been transported to the Sgt. Willie Deleon Civic Center, the reunification site, and could be picked up.

Parent Ryan Ramirez told San Antonio ABC affiliate KSAT he had gone to the civic center and the elementary school trying to find his fourth grade daughter in the wake of the shooting.

“[I’m] just confused and worried. I’m trying to find out where my baby’s at,” he told the station.

Uvalde, Texas, is located about 90 minutes west of San Antonio.

The Bexar County Sheriff’s Office and San Antonio Police Department are sending aid, and the FBI is responding.

The Houston Field Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives also said it is assisting in the investigation.

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas has been briefed on the situation and the agency “is actively coordinating with federal, state, and local partners,” a spokesperson said. Customs and Border Protection officials in the area also responded to the scene.

The National Counterterrorism Operations Center believes there is “no known terrorism nexus” at this time, according to a law enforcement bulletin obtained by ABC News.

ABC News’ Pierre Thomas, Luke Barr, Aaron Katersky, Nicholas Kerr and Mireya Villarreal contributed to this report.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.