Officials respond to shooting at Texas elementary school that kills 19 children, 1 adult

Tuesday, May 24, 2022

Tuesday, at 11:22 CST (1822 UTC), 19 children and 1 teachers were allegedly shoot by Salvador Ramos, age 18, at Robb Elementary School in the small United States (US) town of Uvaide, Texas. Ramos is also alleged to have shot his grandmother in the face, who survived, sometime earlier that morning before driving his car towards the school getting into an accident nearby. Texas Governor Greg Abbott confirmed today that Ramos was allegedly the only shooter and was killed during the attack.

A request for immediate emergency assistance was issued within minutes prompting all available law enforcement to converge onto the school. Among the largest response were the US Customs and Border Protection due to Uvaide’s proximity to the US-Mexico boarder. According to law enforcement, Ramos entered the school with a handgun and an AR-15 style rifle. Texas Department of Public Safety officers claimed Ramos was allegedly shooting indiscriminately, saying he attacked “children, teachers, whoever was in his way.” Ramos was confronted quickly by an Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District officer and a Border Patrol Tactical Unit. A policing policy adopted nationwide called Immediate Action Rapid Deployment installed after the 1999 Columbine High School massacre.

All of the deaths associated with the attack were from a single 4th grade classroom, finally ending in a shootout with law enforcement. Due to the magnitude and abnormality of the situation Attorney General Merrick Garland issuing a statement:

“Today, another mass shooting has taken the lives of innocent victims, including elementary school children and their teacher. This act of unspeakable violence has devastated an entire community and shaken our country. [Federal Bureau of Investigation] and [Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives] agents have responded to the scene, and the Justice Department is committed to providing our full support to our law enforcement partners on the ground in Texas and to the Uvalde community. We join our fellow Americans in mourning this terrible loss and in their resolve to end this senseless violence.”

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) have been deployed, forensically processing Ramos’s home and Robb Elementary School. According to the ATF, the Ramos had purchased two rifles on May 22, two days after his 18th birthday. Investigators are searching Ramos’ social media accounts including three Facebook posts made between the alleged shooting of his grandmother and the school. Other accounts, like Instagram, show Ramos taking pictures of the AR-15 style rifles.

At the scene, Abbott began organizing the government’s response which included federal, state, and local agencies. After law enforcement deemed it safe, Abbott and other officials the students from the school to Sgt. Willie Deleon Civic Center where parents awaited for reunification. In the meantime, Abbott’s office released the following statement:

“Texans across the state are grieving for the victims of this senseless crime and for the community of Uvalde. Cecilia and I mourn this horrific loss and we urge all Texans to come together to show our unwavering support to all who are suffering. We thank the courageous first responders who worked to finally secure Robb Elementary School. I have instructed the Texas Department of Public Safety and the Texas Rangers to work with local law enforcement to fully investigate this crime. The Texas Division of Emergency Management is charged with providing local officials all resources necessary to respond to this tragedy as the State of Texas works to ensure the community has what it needs to heal.”

US President Joe Biden spoke with local and state leaders aboard Air Force One formally ending his diplomatic tour of Asia returning to Washington, DC 17-hours later. While inflight, he ordered all flags at half-staff as a symbol of national mourning. US Vice President Kamala Harris at an Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies gave a short statement:

“Tonight is a rough night.  We planned for a great celebration, but I’m sure most of you have heard the tragic news about what has happened in Texas. So I had prepared comments about tonight, which I will speak, but I just first want to begin by saying a few words about the tragedy that occurred today in Uvalde, Texas. As many of you now, the reports are that there was a mass shooting at an elementary school, and the preliminary reports are that 14 children have been killed.  And the details are still coming in, and of course the President and I are monitoring the situation closely. So while we don’t know all the details yet, we do know that there are parents who have lost children, families that have lost children and their loves ones, of course, and many others who may have been injured. So, I would normally say in a moment like this — we would all say naturally — that our hearts break, but our hearts keep getting broken. You know, I think so many — there’s so many elected leaders in this room.  You know what I’m talking about.  Every time a tragedy like this happens, our hearts break, and our broken hearts are nothing compared to the broken hearts of those families.  And yet, it keeps happening. So, I think we all know and have said many times with each other: Enough is enough.  Enough is enough. As a nation, we have to have the courage to take action and understand the nexus between what make for reasonable and sensible public policy to ensure something like this never happens again. So, the President will speak more about this later.  But for now, I will just say to the people of Uvalde: Please know that this is a room full of leaders who grieve with you.  And we are praying for you, and we stand with you. And it is difficult at a time like this to think about much else, but I do look around this room and I know who is here, and I know this is a room full of American leaders who know and have the courage to take a stand. And so let us, tonight, as we do every time we all get together, recommit ourselves to having the courage to take action.”

Biden asked for time on the networks aboard Air Force One which is reserved for events of national importance. From the White House’s Roosevelt Room, Biden addressed the nation stating:

“Good evening fellow Americans. I had hoped when i became president that i would not have to do this again. Another massacre in Uvalde, Texas. An elementary school. Beautiful, innocent, second, third, fourth graders. And how many scores of little children who witnessed what happened see their friends die ethic they are in a battlefield. — as if they are in a battlefield. There is a lot we do know. The parents who will never see their child again. Never have them jump in bed and cuddle with them. Parents who will never be the same. To lose a child is like having a piece of your soul ripped away. There is a hollowness in your chest and you feel like you were being sucked into it, suffocating. It is never quite the same. It is the feeling shared with the family members and the community members that are left behind. Scripture says the lord is near to the brokenhearted. So many crushed spirits. Tonight, i asked the nation to pray for them. Give the parents and siblings the strength in the darkness they feel right now. As a nation we have to ask when are we going to stand up to the gun lobby? When in god’s name are we going to do what we know needs to be done? It has been 10 years since i stood up at a great school in Connecticut where another gunman massacred 26 people, including first at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Since then and there have been over 900 incidents of gunfire reported on school grounds. In Florida — Parkland, Florida, Oxford High School in Michigan. The list goes on and on and the list grows. Mass shootings at places like movie theaters, places of worship and as we saw in Buffalo, New York. I am sick and tired. We have to act. Do not tell me you cannot have an impact on this carnage. I spent my career as a senator and vice president working to pass common sense gun laws. We cannot prevent every tragedy, but we know they work. When we passed the assault weapons ban, mass shootings went down. The idea that an 18-year-old child can walk into a gun store and buy two assault weapons is wrong. What in god’s name do you need an assault weapon for except to kill somebody? It is just sick. And the gun manufacturers have spent two decades marketing assault weapons which make them the largest profit. We have to have the courage to stand up to the industry. Here is what else i know. Most Americans support common sense gun laws. I just returned from a trip from Asia meeting with Asian leaders. I learned about this while i was on the aircraft. What struck me on that 17-hour flight was these kinds of mass shootings rarely happen anywhere else in the world. Why? They have mental health problems, they have domestic disputes in other countries, they have people who are lost. But these kinds of mass shootings never happened with the kind of frequency that happened in America. Why are we willing to live with this carnage? Why do we keep letting this happen? Where in god’s name is our backbone? To have the courage to stand up to the lobbies. It is time to turn this pain into action for every parent, for every citizen of this country. We have to make it clear to every elected official that it is time to act. It is time for those who have blocked the common sense gun laws, we need to let you know that we will not forget. We can do so much more. We have to do more. Our prayer tonight is for those parents lying in bed and trying to figure out, will i be able to sleep again? What do i say to my other children? What happens tomorrow? May god bless a loss of innocent life on the sad day. May the lord be near the brokenhearted and saves those crushed in spirit because they are going to need a lot of help and a lot more prayers. God love you.”

Uvalde Memorial Hospital quickly became overwhelmed by the 13 pediatric patients where two died and one adult. A 44-year-old woman was treated for a bullet graze and released. Three were transferred to University Health in San Antonio for a total of 4 pediatric patients and one adult. The 10-year-old girl and a 66-year-old woman are currently being listed in critical condition. Two additional adults are being treated at Brooke Army Medical Center, also in critical condition.

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