All of the 19 children and two teachers killed in a Uvalde, Tx., elementary school were in the same fourth-grade classroom, says Texas Department of Public Safety Lt. Christopher Olivarez. Shooter Salvador Ramos, 18, was killed by a Border Patrol agent who rushed into the Robb Elementary School, 85 miles west of San Antonio, the Associated Press reports. Tuesday’s massacre was the deadliest shooting at a U.S. school since a gunman killed 20 children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Ct. in December 2012. Hours after the Texas attack, families were awaiting word on their children. At the town civic center where some gathered, the silence was broken repeatedly by screams and wailing.
The attack came 10 days after a deadly, racist rampage at a Buffalo, N.Y., grocery. President Biden called for new gun restrictions in an address to the nation hours after the attack. “As a nation we have to ask, when in God’s name are we going to stand up to the gun lobby? When in God’s name are we going to do what has to be done?” Biden asked. “Why are we willing to live with this carnage?” It was not immediately clear how many people in the Texas school were wounded. Officials said Ramos acted alone. Robb Elementary has nearly 600 students in second, third and fourth grades. Ramos had hinted on social media that an attack could be coming, said state Sen. Roland Gutierrez. He noted that the gunman “suggested the kids should watch out,” and that he bought two “assault weapons” after turning 18. Before going to the school, Ramos shot his grandmother.