(UVALDE, Texas) — Several dogs are among the responders traveling to Texas Wednesday, one day after a gunman opened fire at an elementary school in the city of Uvalde, killing at least 19 children and two teachers.
The trained animals are all part of Lutheran Church Charities (LCC) K-9 Ministries, a K-9 unit that travels across the U.S. to provide comfort and support to people impacted by disasters such as mass shootings.
Eight of the group’s canines, all golden retrievers, will be dedicated to the Uvalde community. They range in age from 3 to 9, according to Lutheran Church Charities’ K-9 crisis response coordinator Bonnie Fear.
Canine responders Cubby and Devorah are traveling from Fort Collins, Colorado, while Miriam is being sent over from Kingfisher, Oklahoma. Abner, Elijah, Gabriel, Joy, and Triton are already in Texas and will head over to Uvalde from Austin, Houston, Plano and Wichita Falls.
The dogs will offer a unique form of support to anyone impacted by the Robb Elementary shooting, including children, adults, local residents and first responders.
“We are going to attend a mass vigil at the fairgrounds in Uvalde at 7 p.m. tonight,” Fear told “Good Morning America.” “We are also aware and have been directed to the civic center in Uvalde where school staff, teachers, families are gathering, and from there, we hope to connect with first responders, the school staff, families, any churches that request the dogs.”
Some of the dogs have responded to past school shootings as well.
“Cubby has been to all the mass shootings and crises with me since 2016,” Fear told GMA, including the Oxford High School shooting last November in Oxford, Michigan.
“We just see a lot of shock, crying, [people who are] distraught, especially coming in the day after a mass shooting,” Fear said. “People are not ready to process or listen or answer questions. So we just show up with the dogs.”
“We listen if they talk,” she added. “We’re silent. We let the dogs connect with people and they can express their feelings at that time and we’re not counselors, so we are just present, standing with them in their sorrow.”
Lutheran Church Charities’ president and CEO Tim Hetzner recalled to GMA one comfort dog visit that made a particularly lasting impression on him.
“I remember one situation in Sandy Hook, four days after the shooting,” Hetzner said, referring to the 2012 mass shooting at an elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut, that left 20 children and six adults dead. “We were at a community center and this couple was there with their young boy. … I had a dog named Howe at that time.”
“Howe looked up at the boy, got up, walked over to the boy, rolled into his legs and the boy came down on top of him. They just laid there. After about 10 minutes, the boy lifted up Howe’s ear and told him everything that happened in that classroom. Parents started crying because it was the first time the boy had talked in four days. First time and it was a dog.”
Hetzner said the charity has seen an increase in requests for comfort dogs in the last two years. The group’s K-9 unit has expanded from four dogs in 2008 to over 130 dogs in 27 states.
The dogs will be deployed in Uvalde until at least Monday and will be given ample breaks to recuperate in between working shifts, the group said.
(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.
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
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.”
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.”
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/Zh3OvUaIwmpic.twitter.com/TjJVoaFbRN
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.
(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.
(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.
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
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.”
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.”
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/Zh3OvUaIwmpic.twitter.com/TjJVoaFbRN
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.
(NEW YORK) — Current COVID-19 cases are just a fraction of what they were at the peak of the omicron wave.
But many people in the country may be noticing what seems to be a flood of cases in their social circles.
Health experts say this anecdotal evidence may not be simply coincidence, as the U.S. may be in a “hidden” wave — one much larger than reported data would suggest.
“There’s a lot of COVID out there. I see it in my social circles, in my kids’ schools and in the hospital employee infection numbers,” Dr. Shira Doron, an infectious disease physician and hospital epidemiologist at Tufts Medical Center in Boston, told ABC News. “We are clearly in a wave.”
Although it is clear that infection rates have been steadily rising in recent weeks to their highest reported level since mid-February, scientists acknowledge that it is difficult to know how high COVID-19 case and even hospitalization numbers truly are, given the likely “substantially” undercounting of infections.
This is due in part to changes in data collection and reporting and the proliferation of at-home tests. Some state officials report that health departments and healthcare facilities have also ended traditional tracking of COVID-19 patients, which epidemiologists say make it more difficult to know how many patients are coming into hospitals in need of care.
Last month, former Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb estimated that officials were likely only picking up “one in seven or one in eight” infections.
And President Joe Biden’s new coronavirus response coordinator, Dr. Ashish Jha, acknowledged that there are “a lot of infections” last week, likely the result of highly infectious omicron subvariants spreading across the country.
“We know that the number of infections is actually substantially higher than that. It’s hard to know exactly how many but we know that a lot of people are getting diagnosed using home tests,” Jha explained.
More than 100,000 Americans officially testing positive every day
The nation’s reported daily case average, which officials say consists largely of PCR tests, now stands at more than 100,000 new cases reported a day, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
In recent weeks, nearly every state in the country has reported an increase in COVID-19 infections and the number of virus-positive people who are admitted to the hospital.
The Northeast remains the nation’s most notable known COVID-19 hotspot, though surges in some cities, like Boston, appear to be showing initial signs of slowing.
Nationally, according to the CDC’s community levels, more than 45% of Americans live in an area with a medium or high COVID-19 risk.
The high community level suggests there is a “high potential for healthcare system strain” and a “high level of severe disease,” and thus, the CDC recommends that people wear a mask in public indoor settings, including schools.
Hospitalization numbers have been increasing in recent weeks, but not at a rate as significant as infections.
However, over the course of the spring and winter, hospitalization data, too, has become less accessible, leading some experts to suggest patient totals could also be undercounted.
Earlier this year, the Department of Health and Human Services ended the requirement for hospitals to report several key COVID-19 metrics, including a daily total of the number of COVID-19 deaths, the number of emergency department overflow and ventilated patients and information on critical staffing shortages.
Further, certain states have stopped outright reporting of statistics including hospital bed usage and availability, COVID-19 specific hospital metrics and ventilator use.
However, Doron said a possible significant surge in infections, without an overwhelming number of hospitalized COVID-19 patients, could be a promising sign.
“If cases are really a lot higher than what we are seeing, it means the ratio of hospitalizations to cases and deaths to cases is even lower than what we are seeing, and we are already seeing a ‘decoupling’ between cases and hospitalizations and deaths,” Doron said, which could indicate the virus is moving closer to a form that Americans can live with.
Even so, Doron added, “at a population level, however, COVID poses more risk because there are so many cases, and hospitals are already so full with both COVID and non-COVID patients.”
A shift away from traditional testing
In recent months, states from coast to coast, have moved to shutter public testing sites, with an abundance of rapid COVID-19 tests now available in pharmacies and through the federal government.
“While home testing has created broader population access to infection status and hopefully better access to treatment, it has also created a major blind spot in our public health surveillance efforts,” John Brownstein, Ph.D., an epidemiologist at Boston Children’s Hospital and an ABC News contributor, said. “The latest BA.2 surge was masked by the shift in testing behavior and likely delayed decisions on public health interventions.”
The shift away from traditional COVID-19 testing has left some health experts worried about continued issues of access to adequate healthcare and preventative health tools, such as testing and antiviral treatments, to protect vulnerable communities.
According to ABC News’ analysis last summer of pharmacy locations across the country, there are 150 counties where there is no pharmacy, and nearly 4.8 million people live in a county where there’s only one pharmacy for every 10,000 residents or more.
“What concerns me even more is what might be happening in communities and among families with fewer resources. Public testing sites have closed, home tests are expensive at the drugstore, and navigating the system to order free tests or get tests reimbursed by insurance requires literacy and technology,” Doron said.
Broader insights on infection through home testing and wastewater sampling will be critical in the future to fully understand the scope of surges and protect all Americans, Brownstein said.
Virus not disappearing in low-transmission counties
This winter, following the omicron surge, the CDC released a new risk level map, which shifted away from focusing on the level of transmission within a community, and rather shifted the attention to hospital capacity and admission levels.
The rollout of the new map, which aims to help people and local officials assess when to implement potential mitigation measures, caused controversy among some Americans, explained Doron. While some people argued the shift in metrics was long overdue and a sign of the times, others said the move was premature.
“Some people were happy because they felt that we were beyond the time period in which we needed to reimpose restrictions and mandates every time cases increased, given widespread population immunity from vaccination and infection,” Doron said. “It made other people angry because a transition to a medium or high-risk status now requires increases in hospitalizations, which are lagging indicators, in other words there can be a lot of cases before hospitals get full, and some people might choose to take extra precautions sooner.”
Brownstein noted that given the shift away from transmission rates, some Americans may not be fully aware of the continued dangers of the virus, as a green county is not necessarily indicative of the virus simply disappearing.
“While the CDC map reflects decreased risk of severe complications from COVID infection, it unfortunately hides places with high community transmission,” Brownstein said. “This masking of risk may provide a false sense of security especially to those at high risk of hospitalization and death.”
(NEW YORK) — At least 19 children and two adults are dead after a shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety.
The 18-year-old suspect, who is also dead, was a student at Uvalde High School, according to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott.
The governor said the suspect also allegedly shot his grandmother before entering school premises, but did not give any details about her condition.
In the wake of the deadly mass shooting, many parents are left grappling with how to explain the horrific act of gun violence — at a setting where most kids spend a majority of their days — to their children and teens.
“For the majority of students, school is a safe and supporting environment,” Dr. Robin Gurwitch, a licensed clinical psychologist and professor at Duke University Medical Center, told ABC News in 2018, after 17 people, including students, were killed at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.
“So when a shooting happens at a school, it undermines our sort of worldview about where I can be that is a safe place,” she added.
Gurwitch, a member of the National Child Traumatic Stress Network, broke down how parents can discuss the news with their children, and how to help them to feel safe in the aftermath of the harrowing headlines.
Parents should initiate a conversation
Gurwitch stressed that in situations like a mass tragedy, it is “extremely important” for parents and caregivers — especially those with children in high school — to “be willing to bring this topic up.”
“We really want to want to wrap our arms around them and make them feel safe,” she added. “But part of being a parent is willingness to discuss difficult topics.”
“To believe that our children don’t know that these events occur is wishful thinking,” Gurwitch said. “We live in an age where we can go online and see live feed of people leaving the school, of responders, it’s updated every few moments.”
Gurwitch suggests that if you are watching the news with your children, turn it off and talk about the events calmly in order to get an idea of what they know, where they are coming from, and what misconceptions they may have already heard.
It is also critical to reassure children that parents and adults at their school “are going to do everything we can to make you safe,” Gurwitch added.
“Let them know that their school has plans in place to do everything to the best of their ability to make them safe,” she said.
Adapt the conversation based on your child’s age
Gurwitch emphasized that the conversation about the news should vary based on the age of your child.
“I use the analogy ‘it is the same as having a conversation about where do babies come from’ — it is a very different conversation if I’m talking to a preschool or elementary school student than if I’m talking to a high school student,” Gurwitch said.
When it comes to children preschool age and below, she added that parents should limit their media exposure.
“Preschoolers may not understand instant replays,” she said. “So that loop of children running out of the school, if they don’t know that that’s a replay, they think that school has thousands and thousands of students.”
For high school and older middle school age students, Gurwitch recommends addressing the incident directly, saying that you want to talk to them about the school shooting that happened and asking them what they know about it.
For children younger than that, Gurwitch recommended initiating the conversation by saying, “There was a very sad thing that happened at a school … today. It is very sad because people were hurt and people were killed, and I just want you to know about it if you hear kids talking about it at your school, and if you have any questions, you can talk to me.”
Regardless of your child’s age, Gurwitch stressed that parents should “most importantly show a willingness to answer questions,” and listen to their children’s concerns.
“Younger children may ask the same question over and over again,” she added. “That is how they process information.”
How to respond if your child says they don’t feel safe going back to school
If your child or teen says they do not feel safe going back to school, Gurwitch emphasized that it is important not to invalidate their feelings, but to talk about them.
“Say, ‘Tell me what it is that you’re worried about? What it is that you don’t feel safe about?'” she said. “Validate why your child may not feel safe. If we just discount it with a throwaway, ‘You are going to be fine,’ we shut down the conversation.”
Gurwitch added that you can reassure your child that “nowadays schools do have safety plans, and schools do practice shooting drills.”
“Some people are concerned about practicing these drills, but it’s like fire drills, it doesn’t make kids more scared that fires are going to break out, it makes students feel more secure that they have a plan in place,” she said.
“Be patient and supportive as children are trying to make sense of how something so horrific can happen at a setting where I go to be with friends, to learn,” she added.
Check back in
“I think that is really important to check back in tomorrow, to check back in the next day, to find out what are your friends talking about related to this school shooting,” Gurwitch said. “It is very important to get an understanding of how children are coping.”
“When there is a tragedy … a one-and-done conversation is not sufficient,” she added. “Let your child or teenager know that ‘I really do care about you and I am open to having this discussion.'”
If you notice your child or teen is distressed for a longer period of time, and Gurwitch added this may show up in “problems with sleep, problems with attention and focus, and increased irritability,” she recommends that parents reach out to their school guidance counselor, a local psychological association or even their pediatrician for further help.
The National Child Traumatic Stress Network offers comprehensive resource guides for parents, caregivers and educators to support students. Click HERE for resources related to school shootings.
(NEW YORK) — Zola, the online wedding planning and registry site, was hacked over the weekend, the company said in a statement Monday evening.
“Over the weekend, our site & apps came under a cybersecurity attack known as credential stuffing,” the statement read.
Credential stuffing, the company said, is a kind of cyberattack in which hackers “take advantage of people who use the same email and passwords on multiple websites,” using stolen login information to submit widescale login attempts in several different places.
Less than 0.1% of accounts were impacted in the breach, according to Zola.
Bank and credit card information was not exposed in the hack, and officials said the company immediately corrected the problem.
Users first began flagging irregularities with their Zola accounts over the weekend. Some couples said they had money stolen out of their honeymoon registries before they were able to transfer it over to their bank accounts.
Ariel Carpenter, a Louisville, Kentucky doctor, said she was one of those impacted by the hack, describing the experience as a “rollercoaster.”
“It just feels very violating because planning a wedding is a very personal enterprise. At the end of the day, you’re planning a party for your closest family and friends,” said Carpenter, who is slated to get married at the end of June. “And so my initial thought, unfortunately, was that whoever hacked us had access to our family and friends’ contact information.”
Carpenter said she had lost $350 from her honeymoon account on the website, but had not yet received a refund.
Zola said no guest information was compromised in the cyberattack.
The company also stated that it had blocked all attempted unauthorized cash transfers and would restore all funds to couples’ accounts as soon as possible.
“Couples who did experience irregular activity on their accounts can rest assured that any outstanding issues will be resolved and addressed,” Zola said Monday, stating that it would be reaching out to couples “proactively.”
Experts recommend against recycling passwords across different sites as it leaves users vulnerable to cyberattacks like the one this past weekend. Some have suggested using a combination of three random words to create stronger passwords, as the letter combinations make them much more difficult for hacking software to crack.
Tech experts also recommend wiping your phone completely and resetting it to factory defaults before getting rid of it, as hackers may be able to request a password reset on various accounts and apps otherwise.
(NEW YORK) — Everyone deserves a shoe that’s functional, fashionable and inclusive. Reebok’s latest release embodies all three.
The athletic brand has partnered with online shoe retailer Zappos to release brand new adaptive shoes for individuals with disabilities.
In an Instagram post introducing the line, the company shared that the goal of its latest Fit to Fit collection was to provide functional products that don’t compromise style or performance.
“Each model within the collection offers enhanced features to help anybody with any body gain more independence in whatever they do,” the company wrote.
The collection includes the Club MEMT Parafit, a stylish pick that works for everyday wear. The shoe has a medial zip closure, a wider low-cut design for easy mobility and a removable sockliner.
There’s also the Nanoflex Parafit TR, which has a lightweight mesh upper, medial zip closure and a heel pull tab, making it easier to slip on.
Both shoes are available in a variety of colorways and a wide range of sizes.
In addition to the launch of the new Fit to Fit collection, Reebok and Zappos are also donating 750 pairs of adult shoes to athletes participating in the 2022 Special Olympic USA Games, which will be held June 5-12, to ensure they have what they need to succeed.
(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.
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
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.”
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.”
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.
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.
(WASHINGTON) — Historic early turnout meant knockout political races in Georgia, Arkansas, Alabama and Texas primary and runoff elections. With the backdrop of another massacre in which at least 19 schoolchildren and two adults were gunned down in a Texas elementary school, voters took to the polls to sign off on the candidates they believe best meet this political moment.
Here are some key takeaways from Tuesday’s pivotal races:
Some “big lie” candidates run out of steam
There’s never been a bigger test of voters’ metabolism for “big lie” candidates than Georgia’s GOP primaries.
Gov. Brian Kemp made a vicious split from the former president after he refused to help him overturn 2020 election results in the state that favored President Joe Biden. David Perdue, former senator and Donald Trump endorsee, took up Trump’s feud, pillaring the sitting governor for his “lack of action” on so-called election fraud. The attacks were endless but clearly did not resonate with voters, who pushed Kemp to primary victory.
In at least three key counties in Georgia where Trump won in both 2016 and 2022 — Baker, Dooly, and Quitman — Kemp won by landslide margins, a testament to how little Trump’s endorsement can mean when the rubber meets the road.
He’ll square up once again with Democrat Stacey Abrams, one of the most vocal voting rights proponents, who will no doubt be quick to link Kemp and Trump’s record, regardless of the inter-GOP love lost. It’s important to note, though, that even though Kemp does not carry the “big lie” in Perdue-ian ways, he still signed a restrictive voting law and referenced the 2020 election as a reason for doing so during a debate.
Still, the Georgia Democratic Party quickly painted Kemp as the “most vulnerable incumbent governor in history” after his race was called.
“As Donald Trump’s favorite punching bag, Kemp is stuck with a deeply divided party, and Georgians won’t forget his dangerous record of making it easier for criminals to carry guns, passing extreme abortion restrictions, and refusing to expand health care for working families,” Executive Director Noam Lee said in a statement.
Looking down the ballot, voters had less appetite for “big lie” firebrand Rep. Jody Hice, serving incumbent Brad Raffensperger a win. Raffensperger was a key character in Trump’s attempt to overturn the election, and his patent refusal to “find” approximately 11,780 extra votes in Georgia launched him to national acclaim. Hice not only pushed Trump’s disproven election conspiracy, he’s also gone so far as to suggest he’d “decertify” the 2020 election — something patently impossible to do.
Another winning Trump candidate raising questions about election integrity is football star Herschel Walker, who faces a challenge from Democrat Rep. Raphael Warnock in November. Without saying the election was outright stolen, Walker has hedged, telling reporters that “everyone knows that something happened in the election.”
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, one of the most conservative members in the House and one of the 147 Republicans who voted to overturn the general election results, also won her district’s primary elections.
Now, it’s up to voters in Georgia’s general election to see just how large the “big lie” will loom come November.
Political dynasties live and die
As one political dynasty dies, another emerges. The Bush family’s political reach may have seen its end Tuesday, with the loss of George P. Bush, the fourth-generation Bush family elected official and eldest son of former presidential candidate Jeb Bush, in his runoff bid for attorney general. Bush, the current Texas land commissioner, tried and failed to snag Trump’s endorsement, which went to the winner, incumbent Attorney General Ken Paxton. Regardless of his family’s deep ties to Texas politics, Bush was unable to prevail.
But another dynasty lives on in Arkansas, with former White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders decidedly winning her primary bid for governor. Her victory underscores a dual legacy. Not only is her father Mike Huckabee, the former governor of the state, he’s also had a prominent political career and ran for president in both 2008 and 2016. Her association with Trump means another win on his midterm scorecard (for those keeping track).
Gun violence candidate advances amid horror
Atlanta area Rep. Lucy McBath, who was forced to abandon her home district and run in the neighboring congressional district, decidedly won her race against Carolyn Bordeaux. McBath’s race was only one of five incumbent-on-incumbent battles this midterm cycle, making it a must-see for those following the impacts of gerrymandering.
McBath has long championed gun reform, garnering serious monetary support from outside groups on that issue. Michael Bloomberg’s Everytown for Gun Safety threw $1 million at her campaign by way of a TV advertisement in the closing weeks of the primary.
Her win came just hours after a gruesome and deadly shooting in Texas killed at least 19 children and two adults who were gunned down at an elementary school and amid a month filled with gunfire. Just last week, a white man killed 10 Black people in a racially motivated slaughter in a Buffalo supermarket.
Addressing supporters Tuesday night, McBath decried the shooting in Texas and spoke plainly on the gut-wrenching impact on families. McBath lost her teenage son to gun violence in 2012.
“We paid for unfettered gun access with phone calls to mothers and fathers who gasped for air when their desperation would not let them breathe. Who have sunk to their knees when their agony would not let them stand,” she said.
McBath then spoke about her son Jordan, adding, “And across the country, from Uvalde to Sandy Hook, to Charleston to Buffalo, the violence that took my son is being replayed with casual callousness and despicable frequency.”
