Yesterday, May 24, there was a shooting in south Texas. An 18-year-old student at Robb Elementary School in Yuvald opened fire on children, killing 19 of them. Two more victims are adults. Read today in USA.ONE:
Texas school shooting
Total death toll rises to 21.
Teen killed dozens and was shot dead at the scene
On Tuesday morning, at 11:32 a.m. local time, a gunshot rang out at Robb School in Uwald, Texas. 18-year-old Salvador Ramos left his car near the educational institution, went inside and opened fire. The shooter was wearing a bulletproof vest, armed with a pistol and an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle with high-capacity magazines. According to the police, before going to school, Romas shot his grandmother. She is currently in a hospital in San Antonio.
Initially, 14 casualties and 13 injured were reported. A 10-year-old girl and a 66-year-old woman were hospitalized in critical condition. Later, the death toll rose to 21, including 19 children aged 5 to 11. Among adults, teacher Eva Mireles was the victim. She taught children 9-10 years old. The deceased is survived by her husband and daughter, who is graduating from college. The attack took place at an elementary school with about 500 students, 90% of whom are Hispanic. In total, 16 thousand people live in Uvalda, mostly Hispanics (80%).
Tuesday at school was an unusual day. There were 2 days left before the start of the summer holidays, so the children went to the zoo, and then the awarding of students was to take place. They came in smart clothes, not school uniforms. The school will now be closed for the rest of the school year. The surviving children were immediately taken to the city social center. After the shooting, the high school student barricaded himself in the building, but was shot dead by a US Border Patrol officer who was near the school and heard the sounds of gunfire.
Two more border guards were injured during a shootout with Ramos. One of them was shot in the head. Now he is in the hospital and there is no threat to his life. Texas Senate member Roland Gutierrez said El Salvador purchased the rifle as soon as he turned 18. The perpetrator acted alone. The motives for his crime are unknown.
At the time of the tragedy, the President of the United States was on board the plane, returning from Asia. He was immediately informed of the shooting. Joe Biden said he mourns with the families of the victims and called for immediate action on the gun lobby that is blocking the passage of a gun trade law. He also ordered that state flags be flown at half mast over the White House and other public buildings until the evening of May 28 as a token of grief for the victims.
"I was hoping that as president, I wouldn't have to go through this again. As a nation, we must ask ourselves: "For God's sake, when are we going to start confronting the gun lobby?" And don't tell me we can't influence this carnage" — Biden made a speech.
According to the president, the very idea that an 18-year-old boy can easily go into a store and buy a firearm is simply terrible. He noted that nowhere in the world do such massacres occur as in the United States.
"Dozens of young children witnessed what happened. They saw their friends die as if they were on a battlefield. For heaven's sake, they'll have to live with it for the rest of their lives," — said the president.
Other influential Democrats also spoke about the need to tighten control over the sale of weapons. According to Vice President Camila Harris, there is a limit to everything and it takes courage to adopt smart, meaningful policies to prevent similar incidents in the future. Former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton believes that the US is turning into "a country of heart-rending scream" and thoughts and prayers alone are no longer enough.
"We need legislators who have the will to stop the wave of gun violence in America that is killing our children,& #34; Clinton added.
Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz called the Uvalda incident a real horror, but expressed doubt that gun law reform would help prevent such incidents. In his opinion, restricting the rights of law-abiding citizens will not work. Cruz said that the most effective way to protect the lives of students is to employ armed security guards in schools.
Running for the White House, Joe Biden promised to tighten up screening during gun sales and bring down death tolls that run into the tens of thousands a year. But he and his fellow Democrats failed to win enough votes in Congress to introduce a requirement to verify the identity of firearms buyers. Last year alone, there were 26 armed attacks in the United States. The deadliest was the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Connecticut. The 20-year-old shooter killed 26 children, 20 of whom were 5-6 years old.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says firearms have come out on top, overtaking traffic accidents, in the number of deaths among children and teenagers in 2020. America is currently the most armed country in the world. In May 2022 alone, 215 cases of the use of weapons were registered, in 9 of which more than 4 people were killed. For example, on May 13, 16 people were injured in a shootout in Wisconsin. On May 14, 10 people were shot dead in Buffalo motivated by racial hatred, and on the 15th, two people were victims of a shootout in Houston, three more were injured.
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