Yesterday, May 24, There was a shooting in south Texas. An 18-year-old senior at Robb Elementary School in Uvald 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 of people and was shot dead at the scene 
photo: miamistandard.news
On Tuesday morning, at 11:32 local time, gunfire rang out at Robb School in Uvald, Texas. 18-year-old Salvador Ramos left his car near the educational institution, went inside and opened fire. The shooter was wearing body armor and armed with a pistol and an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle with high-capacity magazines. According to police, Ramos shot his grandmother before heading to school. She is currently in a hospital in San Antonio.
Initially, 14 casualties and 13 wounded 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 people, including 19 children aged 5 to 11 years. Among the adults, the victim was teacher Eva Mireles. She taught children 9-10 years old. The deceased is survived by her husband and daughter, who is finishing college. The attack occurred at an elementary school of about 500 children, 90% of whom are Hispanic. In total, 16 thousand people live in Uvalde, mostly Hispanic (80%).
Tuesday was an unusual day at school. There were 2 days left before the start of the summer holidays, so the children went to the zoo, and then the students were to be awarded. They came in smart clothes, not school uniforms. The school will now be closed until the end 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 by a US Border Patrol agent who was near the school and heard the sounds of gunfire.
Two other border guards were wounded during the shootout with Ramos. One of them was hit in the head by a bullet. He is now in the hospital and there is no threat to his life. Texas Senate member Roland Gutierrez said Salvador purchased the rifle as soon as he turned 18. The criminal acted alone. The motives for his crime are unknown.
photo: bbc.com
At the time of the tragedy, the US President was on board the plane returning from Asia. He was immediately informed about the shooting. Joe Biden said he mourns with the families of the victims and called for immediate action against the gun lobby, which is preventing the passage of gun control legislation. He also ordered state flags to be flown at half-mast at the White House and other public buildings until the evening of May 28 as a sign of grief for the victims.
"I hoped that when I became president, I wouldn't have to go through this again. As a nation we must ask ourselves: "For God's sake, when will we start standing up to the gun lobby?" And don’t tell me that we can’t influence these massacres," — Biden made a speech.
According to the president, the very idea that an 18-year-old boy could easily walk 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 small children witnessed the incident. They saw their friends die as if they were on a battlefield. For God's sake, they'll have to live with this for the rest of their lives," — said the president.
Other influential Democrats have also spoken out about the need to tighten controls on gun sales. According to Vice President Camila Harris, there is a limit to everything and we need to be brave to adopt smart, meaningful policies to prevent similar incidents in the future. Former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton believes that the United States is turning into a "land of heartbreaking screams" and thoughts and prayers alone are no longer enough.
"We need legislators who have the will to stop the tide of gun violence in America that is killing our children," — added Clinton.
photo: Twitter
Texas Senator Ted Cruz, a Republican, called what happened in Uvalde a horror, but expressed doubt that gun reform would help prevent such incidents. In his opinion, restricting the rights of law-abiding citizens will not work. Cruz said the most effective way to protect students' lives is to hire armed security guards at schools.
When running for the White House, Joe Biden promised to tighten vetting of gun sales and reduce death tolls that reach tens of thousands a year. But he and his fellow Democrats failed to get enough votes in Congress to require ID checks for firearms buyers. Last year alone, there were 26 armed attacks in the United States. The deadliest shooting was at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut in 2012. The victims of the 20-year-old shooter were 26 children, 20 of whom were 5-6 years old.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that firearms have overtaken traffic accidents in first place 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 incidents of gun violence were reported, 9 of which resulted in more than 4 people being killed. For example, on May 13, 16 people were injured in a shooting in Wisconsin. On May 14, 10 people were shot and killed in Buffalo motivated by racial hatred, and on the 15th, two people died in a shooting in Houston, and three more were wounded.
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