It is still under investigation if the school was a premeditated target or if the attacker entered because it is close to the place where he had a traffic accident
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Students from the school transferred to a civic center after the shooting (Reuters)
The 19 children and 2 teachers who died in the shooting on Tuesday in Uvalde (Texas, USA) were in the same class, in which the attacker barricaded himself and fired indiscriminately at those present, the Police reported on Wednesday.
In statements to the media, the spokesman for the Texas Department of Public Safety, Chris Olivarez, explained that the assailant shot his grandmother at home, then got into a vehicle and had an accident near the Robb school Elementary.
It was at that moment when the security forces received the first alert calls, indicating that an armed individual was heading towards the school.
< p class=”paragraph”>“The attacker was able to enter a classroom, barricaded himself inside that room and again began shooting numerous children and teachers who were in that room with no regard for human life… He began shooting anyone who got in his way. way,” he stated on NBC.
“That shows the complete evil of this shooter,” Olivarez said on CNN.
Emergency personnel attend to victims (AP)
As the shooting raged, officers roamed the school, breaking windows and trying to evacuate children and staff . They were then able to break into the classroom where the shooter was, he said.
Several children were injured inside the classroom but there is no exact figure for how many at this time. “It’s a small classroom, there may be between 25 and 30 students inside, plus there were two teachers inside. So I don’t have the exact number of how many students were in that classroom, but it could vary… It was a classroom setting, a typical classroom setting where there are massive groups of kids inside that classroom all together , with nowhere to go,” the spokesperson said.
When the police arrived at the scene, the assailant opened fire on the officers and was eventually killed. “At that moment, a tactical police arrived… who was able to force their way into that classroom. They were also shot at, but were able to shoot and kill the suspect.”
The shooter was identified Tuesday as Salvador Ramos, an 18-year-old US citizen. years old, a resident of Uvalde and who was armed with a rifle.
As of early Wednesday, all of the fatalities had been identified and their families notified, with some of them revealing the names of their children killed in the shooting to the media.
< p class=”paragraph”>The Police spokesman indicated that they are still investigating whether the school was a premeditated target of the attacker or if he entered the building given its proximity to the place where he had the traffic accident .
(Reuters)
Olivarez also offered new details about Ramos, whom he said lived with his grandparents, had no job, was a student at a local high school, had no friends or a partner. The police are not aware that he was part of any gang.
Despite having been shot by his grandson, Ramos’ grandmother is still alive, and the authorities are trying to to locate the grandfather.
The massacre at Uvalde Elementary, a town with a high Latino population, was the deadliest shooting at an American school since a gunman killed 20 children and six teachers at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, in December. 2012.
After the attack, families waited hours for news about their children.
Relatives of students wait for news of the victims (Reuters)
In the town’s civic center, where families were waiting for information about their loved ones, the screams and wails broke the silence over and over. “Do not! Please, no!” shouted a man while hugging another.
(With information from EFE and AP)