Bringing You Up to Date on the School Shooting in Uvalde, Texas
May 25, 2022
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The reality of what happened on Tuesday in Uvalde, Texas is setting in across America as authorities try to piece together what led to what is now the second deadliest school shooting on U.S. soil. Here is the latest on the tragedy in Uvalde.
Death Toll Sits at 21
A lone gunman walked into an elementary school in the small Texas town of Uvalde and opened fire after barricading himself in a classroom. 18-year-old Salvador Ramos killed 19 students and two adults before he was shot and killed by law enforcement.
The massacre unfolded at Robb Elementary shortly before noon. All of the killings happened in a fourth grade classroom. Robb Elementary is home to about 535 students in grades second through fourth.
Timeline of Events
According to Sgt. Erick Estrada with the Texas Department of Public Safety, Ramos first shot his grandmother on Tuesday morning before arriving at Robb Elementary. The grandmother was in critical condition late Tuesday night after being rushed to a hospital in San Antonio.
Shortly after receiving the report about the shooting at home, police fielded a report of a vehicle crash in a ditch within close proximity to the school. Authorities believe that Ramos was driving that vehicle when it crashed into the ditch at about 11:30 am.
Ramos fled to the school where he was engaged by an Uvalde ISD police officer who was stationed at the school. Two additional officers from the Uvalde Police Department also arrived immediately, however, none of the law enforcement were able to stop Ramos. Officials called for tactical assistance as Ramos entered the school and barricaded himself into a classroom.
There are still a number of questions that need to be answered regarding how Ramos was able to get past the first line of officers. There are also questions surrounding the cause of the vehicular crash. Estrada said that there are no reports that law enforcement had been pursuing Ramos prior to the time he ran the vehicle into the ditch.
Over 20 agents from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agency responded to the scene to assist. One CBP agent was injured but is currently in stable condition. Officers were breaking classroom windows and evacuating students and staff as the shooting was taking place. They were finally able to break into the classroom where the shooting was happening and take down the shooter.
Frantic parents were directed to wait at a civic center in the moments after the shooting. As the hours wore on, parents who had not been reunited with the surviving children were asked to provide DNA samples for identification purposes.
In addition to the confirmed fatalities, there are still a handful of individuals still hospitalized. As of Wednesday morning, there are three students hospitalized at University Hospital San Antonio. Two of these patients are in good condition while one is listed as serious. There are also two patients listed in serious condition at Brooke Army Medical Center.
As of late Tuesday, all of the victims have been identified and removed from the school. Among those killed is Eva Mireles, a fourth-grade teacher. Mireles had been an educator for 17 years.
Additional Details
The school district announced late Tuesday that it will cancel classes for the remainder of the academic year. The last day of school had been scheduled for Thursday.
Uvalde is located in the county of the same name. The town of about 25,000 people is located approximately 80 miles west of San Antonio and about 70 miles east of the border of Mexico. According to the latest U.S. Census data, about 75% of the town’s population is Hispanic.
Robb Elementary is located in a residential neighborhood near the center of town.
The White House announced on Wednesday that President Joe Biden is planning to visit Uvalde in the coming days. The details are in the process of being finalized. Aides said that they do not want the president’s visit to distract from the ongoing investigation.
About the Shooter
Ramos was a student at Uvalde High School. He also worked at a local Wendy’s restaurant. Just days before the massacre, Ramos posted a picture of two AR-15 rifles on his personal Instagram account. According to Texas state senator Ronald Gutierrez, Ramos bought the two assault rifles for himself on his 18th birthday. Gutierrez confirmed that the weapons were purchased legally from an authorized dealer in the local area.
There has been no identified motive.
Classmates said that Ramos had been bullied regularly.
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