Texas: Three adults and 18 children killed in deadliest school shooting in state's history

[EnterpriseSovereign]

Texas: Three adults and 18 children killed in deadliest school shooting in state's history.

Three adults and 18 children have been killed in a shooting at a Texas primary school.

State governor Greg Abbot reported the deaths and also told reporters the suspect was an 18-year-old man - thought to have been shot and killed by police.

In a news conference, the district's chief of police said the school teaches grades two, three and four, meaning the children killed are aged from seven to 10-years-old.

The incident unfolded at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, about 85 miles west of San Antonio, on Tuesday.

President Biden is expected to address the nation from the White House on Tuesday evening.

It is the deadliest school shooting in Texas history and occurred four years after a gunman fatally shot 10 people at Santa Fe High School in the Houston area.

And the deadliest shooting at a US grade school since the attack at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Connecticut, almost a decade ago.

The shooter had a handgun and possibly a rifle, Governor Abbot said, adding that two officers had been shot and wounded but were expected to survive.

In a tweet, the politician added: "Texans are grieving for the victims of this senseless crime".

It was not immediately clear how many people, in addition to the dead, were injured in the shooting. Earlier, Uvalde Memorial Hospital said 13 children were taken there.

Another hospital reported a 66-year-old woman was in critical condition.

A heavy police presence surrounded the school on Tuesday afternoon, with officers in heavy vests diverting traffic and FBI agents coming and going from the building.

Robb Elementary School has an enrolment of just under 600 students.

Earlier, the district had said that all schools in the district were locked down because of gunshots in the area.

The district said that the city’s civic centre was being used as a reunification centre for pupils.

President Biden has ordered the US flag to be flown at half-mast until sunset on Saturday, following the shooting.

The shooting in Texas came less than two weeks after a gunman opened fire at a supermarket in Buffalo, New York, killing 10 Black shoppers and workers in what officials have described as a hate crime.

Honestly, I'm glad they killed the shooter.

[Mr Bean]

...deadliest shooting so far

So a teenager shoots up an elementary school and now comes the normal questions about how many warning signs were ignored and who provided them with the weaponry.

[Elfdart]

At least those kids were protected from Critical Race Theory, right Governor Abbott? Oh, and fuck your Thoughts and Prayers.

[Jub]

Where were all the concerned citizens with their concealed carry permits to prevent this?

[ray245]

Glanced at some right-wing forums and all they talk about is how moral decline of young people caused this.

[Tribble]

Glanced at some right-wing forums and all they talk about is how moral decline of young people caused this.

They have a point, though not in the way that they think.

Turns out incredibly easy access to guns, teaching kids that violence (especially against your enemies) is perfectly acceptable and that you can get your 15 minutes of fame if you kill as many as people as possible is not a good combination.

Of course, the far right’s version is “if only heavily armed white Christian zealots can be allowed to purge everyone else from society, this wouldn’t be an issue… for them”.

[Broomstick]

Where were all the concerned citizens with their concealed carry permits to prevent this?

The police did shoot at him before he entered the school but their firearms were ineffective because the bad guy was wearing body armor. So armed citizens would have been useless.

[Tribble]

Where were all the concerned citizens with their concealed carry permits to prevent this?

The police did shoot at him before he entered the school but their firearms were ineffective because the bad guy was wearing body armor. So armed citizens would have been useless.

Clearly the NRA solution would be to completely deregulate and increase the production of armour piercing bullets.

[AniThyng]

Where were all the concerned citizens with their concealed carry permits to prevent this?

The police did shoot at him before he entered the school but their firearms were ineffective because the bad guy was wearing body armor. So armed citizens would have been useless.

Wait what, he had enough body armor on that he could shrug off police bullets?!

[Lord Insanity]

Where were all the concerned citizens with their concealed carry permits to prevent this?

The police did shoot at him before he entered the school but their firearms were ineffective because the bad guy was wearing body armor. So armed citizens would have been useless.

That is also ignoring the fact that in most cases concealed carry permits are not valid inside the "gun-free school zone" since the federal Gun-Free School Zones Act of 1990 was passed.

[LadyTevar]

Updates:

Grandmother is ALIVE, but in serious condition.

Shooter had a Tac-Vest, but NO ARMOR in the pouches.

[Solauren]

Updates:

Grandmother is ALIVE, but in serious condition.

Shooter had a Tac-Vest, but NO ARMOR in the pouches.

That's why you aim for the legs. They're rarely armored or protected.
And even if they air, that might be enough to throw the target off balance enough to make a difference.


Unfortunately, US law-enforcement is taught 'aim for the center of mass'.

[Elfdart]

Funny how our piss-soaked coward of a governor made damn sure he had a half-dozen armed guards on hand to defend himself against a public scolding from Beto O'Rourke. Where the fuck were those guys yesterday?

[Jub]

Where were all the concerned citizens with their concealed carry permits to prevent this?

The police did shoot at him before he entered the school but their firearms were ineffective because the bad guy was wearing body armor. So armed citizens would have been useless.

Except that he wasn't wearing anything of the sort. He had a plate carrier but didn't have any plates in it, the idiots just missed a few times and then ran away while kids died.

[Lost Soal]

Apparently they did actually run into the school... to get their own kids out. Then they blocked other parents from doing the same.

[EnterpriseSovereign]

Where were all the concerned citizens with their concealed carry permits to prevent this?

The police did shoot at him before he entered the school but their firearms were ineffective because the bad guy was wearing body armor. So armed citizens would have been useless.

Except that he wasn't wearing anything of the sort. He had a plate carrier but didn't have any plates in it, the idiots just missed a few times and then ran away while kids died.

This guy had no prior record, seemingly he bought a couple of assault rifles legally just a week before and texted some girl in Germany he was talking to that he was going to shoot up an elementary school.

Apparently the cops decided to wait an hour for a SWAT team to arrive instead of moving into the building.

Details about the timing of events and the police response to the Texas school shooting remain murky, days on from the attack.

Investigations are ongoing into America's school shooting in a decade, but authorities are facing questions about their response - and the time it took to stop the shooter, as it emerged he was inside for an hour before authorities entered.

Nineteen children and two teachers were killed in the shooting on in Uvalde on Tuesday.

An official said on Wednesday anywhere between 40 minutes to an hour elapsed from when the shooter opened fire to when he was shot dead.

A department spokesperson said on Thursday that authorities were still working to clarify the timeline of the attack.

Later in the day, however, they confirmed the gunman was in the building for more than an hour before he was killed by law enforcement officers.

Texas Department of Public Safety spokesperson Travis Considine said Ramos entered Robb Elementary School and began his rampage at 11:40am on Tuesday.

A Border Patrol tactical unit began trying to get inside an hour later, and at 12:58pm, radio chatter noted he was dead.

The amount of time that elapsed has stirred anger and questions among family members, who demanded to know why they did not storm the place and put a stop to the rampage more quickly.

Victor Escalon, a regional director at the Texas Department of Public Safety, said on Thursday that Ramos did not initially encounter any law enforcement officers when he entered Robb Elementary School.

The law enforcement official said the gunman entered the building "unobstructed" through a door that was apparently unlocked.

Robert Moore, reporting from Texas, said witnesses were reportedly shouting at the police to enter into the school to accost the gunman.

Texas school shooting: Why was the gunman active for an hour before officers entered the school?

[Broomstick]

Wait what, he had enough body armor on that he could shrug off police bullets?!

Body armor does not let you "shrug off" bullets. They still pack a lot of energy. At best you'll get knocked back, maybe entirely knocked down, you could have no bruising or massive bruising, cracked ribs sometimes occur. Get a powerful enough gun and you still might get penetrated by a bullet.

The difference such body armor makes is that if you're knocked down you're able to get back up. You might be injured, but most likely not fatally. A lot depends on what's being fired at the vest, and from how far away.

[LadyTevar]

Wait what, he had enough body armor on that he could shrug off police bullets?!

Body armor does not let you "shrug off" bullets. They still pack a lot of energy. At best you'll get knocked back, maybe entirely knocked down, you could have no bruising or massive bruising, cracked ribs sometimes occur. Get a powerful enough gun and you still might get penetrated by a bullet.

The difference such body armor makes is that if you're knocked down you're able to get back up. You might be injured, but most likely not fatally. A lot depends on what's being fired at the vest, and from how far away.

But it's been confirmed that he had NO BODY ARMOR.
So WTF happened? Did cops shoot at him or not? Why did they think they had to wait an hour for SWAT? Did they actually enter just to get their own kids? Did they prevent parents from entering (and possibly dying)?

[Aether]

Apparently the cops decided to wait an hour for a SWAT team to arrive instead of moving into the building.

Details about the timing of events and the police response to the Texas school shooting remain murky, days on from the attack.

Investigations are ongoing into America's school shooting in a decade, but authorities are facing questions about their response - and the time it took to stop the shooter, as it emerged he was inside for an hour before authorities entered.

Nineteen children and two teachers were killed in the shooting on in Uvalde on Tuesday.

An official said on Wednesday anywhere between 40 minutes to an hour elapsed from when the shooter opened fire to when he was shot dead.

A department spokesperson said on Thursday that authorities were still working to clarify the timeline of the attack.

Later in the day, however, they confirmed the gunman was in the building for more than an hour before he was killed by law enforcement officers.

Texas Department of Public Safety spokesperson Travis Considine said Ramos entered Robb Elementary School and began his rampage at 11:40am on Tuesday.

A Border Patrol tactical unit began trying to get inside an hour later, and at 12:58pm, radio chatter noted he was dead.

The amount of time that elapsed has stirred anger and questions among family members, who demanded to know why they did not storm the place and put a stop to the rampage more quickly.

Victor Escalon, a regional director at the Texas Department of Public Safety, said on Thursday that Ramos did not initially encounter any law enforcement officers when he entered Robb Elementary School.

The law enforcement official said the gunman entered the building "unobstructed" through a door that was apparently unlocked.

Robert Moore, reporting from Texas, said witnesses were reportedly shouting at the police to enter into the school to accost the gunman.

Texas school shooting: Why was the gunman active for an hour before officers entered the school?

I have not seen the actual clips, but there are snippits of video where the parents are yelling at the officers on site to charge in while the shooting was ongoing. There were also officer's who went into the school to get their own children. If this ends up being true, god damn. Good guys with a gun indeed.

[MKSheppard]

This thing is an entire mess; the story has changed multiple times; the CURRENT story is:

1.) Shoots grandmother.

2.) Texts someone on Facebook messenger that he shot his grandmother and that he's gonna go shoot up a school.

3.) Steals grandmother's truck.

4.) Grandmother calls police around 11:30AM.

5.) Crashes truck in a culvert next to school.

6.) Exits truck with backpack and one rifle (other rifle is in truck)

7.) Begins randomly shooting at people standing outside for a few minutes

8. Goes to school, and enters through an unlocked door, goes down hallways and ends up in two adjoining classrooms. Enters at roughly 11:54 AM.

9.) Cops proceed to do nothing but mill about for 30-40 minutes before a BORTAC (Border Patrol Special forces) agent leads an assault to storm the room and eliminate shooter at roughly 1:00 PM.

Motive? From a poster on another board: (take with grain of salt)

"Just got off the phone with my sister. She's a regional manager for a large hearing aid company. Her company has an office in the area and some of the employees were affected by the shooting. She's been working with corporate to put together paying for funeral expenses and such. One of her employees has a nephew that is a teacher at the school. Every year the school does a "senior visit" where high school seniors who attended the school come around and mingle with the elementary kids. That was supposedly the real target. That makes sense as the killer was supposed to be salty about not graduating with his class. Problem is he got his days mixed up. The event was Tuesday, not Wednesday."

[MKSheppard]

Texas DPS has changed their story multiple times.

First they said there was a School Resource Officer who "engaged" the shooter, then it was "encountered the shooter", and now there's no SRO; and that the Shooter wasn't confronted before entry and that he walked in an unlocked door.

Who knows what we'll find out by next week.

[Broomstick]

But it's been confirmed that he had NO BODY ARMOR.
So WTF happened? Did cops shoot at him or not? Why did they think they had to wait an hour for SWAT? Did they actually enter just to get their own kids? Did they prevent parents from entering (and possibly dying)?

At this point I'm sitting back for a day or two to see what shakes out. The facts are unclear.

Some things people find disturbing or upsetting do make sense in a cold logic sense. Restraining unarmed parents from rushing into the school makes sense, even if it wrenches at our guts, because running headlong towards a spree-killer is likely to result in more dead people. If the cops are outgunned them rushing in will, again, just result in more dead people. We don't know the full story. Maybe the cops were cowards and shirked their duty. Maybe not. I don't know, but I also know that I'm an armchair quarterback sitting here in safety with the luxury of second-guessing the decisions of people actually there who didn't have the time to mull everything over.

[Aether]

But it's been confirmed that he had NO BODY ARMOR.
So WTF happened? Did cops shoot at him or not? Why did they think they had to wait an hour for SWAT? Did they actually enter just to get their own kids? Did they prevent parents from entering (and possibly dying)?

At this point I'm sitting back for a day or two to see what shakes out. The facts are unclear.

Some things people find disturbing or upsetting do make sense in a cold logic sense. Restraining unarmed parents from rushing into the school makes sense, even if it wrenches at our guts, because running headlong towards a spree-killer is likely to result in more dead people. If the cops are outgunned them rushing in will, again, just result in more dead people. We don't know the full story. Maybe the cops were cowards and shirked their duty. Maybe not. I don't know, but I also know that I'm an armchair quarterback sitting here in safety with the luxury of second-guessing the decisions of people actually there who didn't have the time to mull everything over.

The police wouldn't have to restraint parents to rush head on into the school if the police themselves were actually doing that themselves. The parents were yelling and cussing at the police because as they were there were gunshots happening. So much so that a parent yelled that they were going to rush in themselves since the officers were standing there; one with taser drawn. Having "all" the facts and time to map out a 10 point tactical plan to ensure not one officer takes a bullet shouldn't be a requirement to make the "correct" decision in this situation because idling by and waiting for 40 minutes isn't the answer.

I don't post much, and I know you're a mod, but your take is bullshit.

[Aether]

Here the Texas DPS Director openly admits that there are 19 officers waiting in the hallway for keys to open the door to the class room and tactical equipment. At the time (if you actually believe them) is that all the people in the room were dead, so it is just a need to breach the room. 19 officers against 1 shooter.

This is literally the living embodiment of the "You had one job" meme.

[Jub]

Am I allowed to suggest that the US heavily restrict guns now, or are we waiting for more evidence that Americans just aren't responsible enough to be allowed access to firearms?