On Tuesday, an 18-year-old shooter killed at least 19 elementary school students and teachers at Robb Elementary in Uvalde, Texas.
The shooter, Salvador Ramos, was killed by responding officers, according to Gov. Greg Abbott. The shooter was armed with a pistol and multiple assault rifles. Two officers were injured in the incident and Ramos also shot his grandmother before entering the school.
The shooter was a resident of Uvalde, a small town about 80 miles west of San Antonio.
“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 during a press conference. “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.”
It is the deadliest school shooting in the U.S. since Parkland, Florida in 2018.
“I had hoped when I became president I would not have to do this, again,” President Joe Biden said in an address to the nation.
The shooting comes days before the annual meeting for the National Rifle Association is set to take place in Houston this weekend. Lawmakers and anti-gun violence advocates are already calling for the meeting to be canceled or moved. Multiple Texas Republican lawmakers are reportedly slated to speak at the event.
Many are also critcizing Texas lawmakers for loosening restrictions on guns during the 2021 legistiave session, which saw the passage of House Bill 1927, the state’s “permitless carry” law allowing Texans 21 and older to open carry without a licence.
It was one of several bills that loosened firearm restrictions in the state.
Photo: Tex Texin / Wikimedia Commons
Fernando covers Texas politics and government at the Texas Signal. Before joining the Signal, Fernando spent two years at the Houston Chronicle and previously interned at Houston’s NPR station News 88.7. He is a graduate of the University of Houston, Jack J. Valenti School of Communication, and enjoys reading, highlighting things, and arguing on social media. You can follow him on Twitter at @fernramirez93 or email at fernando@texassignalarchive.com
