Sandy MaloneUvalde, TX – Fourteen children and a teacher were fatally shot at an elementary school in Texas on Tuesday morning and multiple more people, including two law enforcement officers, were wounded.
Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District (CISD) Police Chief Pete Arredondo told reporters the incident began at about 11:30 a.m. on May 24 at Robb Elementary School located in the 700-block of Old Carrizo Road, the New York Daily News reported.
Independent journalist Ali Bradley reported that law enforcement sources said the gunman was a murder suspect and that he was running from authorities.
The pursuit ended near Robb Elementary School and the gunman – identified by Texas Governor Greg Abbott as a local 18-year-old – jumped out of his truck and ran into the elementary school.
Then he started shooting, according to law enforcement sources.
The governor said that the gunman fatally shot his own grandmother before his rampage inside the elementary school.
“It’s believed that he abandoned his vehicle and entered into the Robb Elementary School in Uvalde with a handgun and he may have also had a rifle, but that is not yet confirmed according to my most recent report,” Abbott told reporters.
“He shot and killed, horrifically, incomprehensively, fourteen students and killed a teacher,” the governor said.
Abbott said that two police officers were injured in a shootout with the suspect but their injuries were not life threatening.
The gunman died in the exchange of gunfire, the New York Daily News reported.
Officials have not yet said who shot the suspect.
Chief Arredondo said that preliminary evidence suggested that the gunman had acted alone, the New York Daily News reported.
“The crime scene is still being worked on, and again we’ll notify the parents and the families as soon as we have some news for them,” the police chief said.
Most of the gunshot victims were transported to Uvalde Memorial Hospital for treatment, the New York Daily News reported.
Two of the victims were airlifted to the trauma center at University Health in San Antonio.
Authorities have not said how many additional people were wounded, nor have they revealed how many of the victims were children, the New York Daily News reported.
The entire school district was put into an immediate lockdown when the shooting began, according to Chief Arredondo.
There were 535 students, 2nd grade through 4th grade, enrolled at Robb Elementary School in the 2020-2021 school year, CNN reported.
Thursday was scheduled as the last day of school for the 2021-2022 year.
Uvalde CISD cancelled all school activities in the district after the shooting, CNN reported.
Officials have not yet released the names of the children and teacher who were murdered.
Agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), and the U.S. Border Patrol were on the scene assisting local law enforcement.
Chief Arredondo said that deputies from at least four counties had also responded to the scene to assist.
Officials are calling the incident the deadliest school shooting in the history of Texas, the Associated Press reported.
#BREAKING Multiple children were shot & killed at an Elementary School in Uvalde, TX. Multiple LE sources tells me the shooter was a murder suspect, there was a bolo out for his truck— A pursuit ended near Robb Elementary—He ran into the school, started firing. Limited info. pic.twitter.com/AdVYsDoBem
— Ali Bradley (@AliBradleyTV) May 24, 2022
We are heartbroken by this afternoon’s tragic events in Uvalde as we mourn alongside our neighbors in Texas. To the victims, their families and the entire Uvalde community, you are held close to our hearts today and in the weeks to come.
— Houston Texans (@HoustonTexans) May 24, 2022
Heidi & I are fervently lifting up in prayer the children and families in the horrific shooting in Uvalde.
We are in close contact with local officials, but the precise details are still unfolding.
Thank you to heroic law enforcement & first responders for acting so swiftly.
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) May 24, 2022
This is a developing story and we will keep you updated. For all of our updates, follow us on Facebook and go to your news feed preferences under your settings, then select that you want to see more of The Police Tribune’s posts in your news feed. Otherwise, Facebook may not show you updates.
Holly Matkin
