- The gunman charged into one classroom where he barricaded himself by locking the door, forcing a staff member to open the room with a key after Border Patrol agents struggled to breach the classroom door, a law enforcement official familiar with the investigation told the Associated Press. Earlier, Lt. Christopher Olivarez of the Department of Public Safety told CNN the gunman “barricaded himself by locking the door and just started shooting children and teachers that were inside that classroom”.
- About “40 minutes or so” elapsed from when the gunman opened fire on the school security officer and when the Border Patrol team shot him, Department of Public Safety Director Steve McCraw said.
- Onlookers reportedly urged police officers to charge into the school. Juan Carranza, 24, who saw the scene unfold from outside his house across the street, told the Associated Press he felt arriving officers should have entered the school sooner. Javier Cazares, whose daughter, Jacklyn Cazares, was killed in the attack, said he raced to the school and arrived while police were still massed outside the building. “Let’s just rush in because the cops aren’t doing anything like they are supposed to,” he recalled. “More could have been done.”
- However, US Border Patrol chief Raul Ortiz said agents “didn’t hesitate” when responding to the shooting. “They didn’t hesitate. They came up with a plan. They entered that classroom and they took care of the situation as quickly as they possibly could,” he told CNN’s Anderson Cooper.
- More than 100 federal officers responded to Uvalde school shooting, Ortiz added. “When it was all said and done, we had over 80 officers immediately on the scene, and then right after that, 150 or so officers converged on this area,” he told CNN. Those officers came from several divisions, including the Border Patrol, Air and Marine Operations and Homeland Security Investigations.
- Before attacking the school, the gunman shot and wounded his grandmother at her home. Neighbours called police when she staggered outside and they saw she had been shot in the face, Texas Department of Public Safety spokesperson Travis Considine said.
- The gunman sent three online messagesin the half-hour before the mass shooting, according to the governor of Texas, Greg Abbot. In the first message, he wrote that he was going to shoot his grandmother. The second message reportedly confirmed that he had shot her and in the last note, sent about 15 minutes before he reached Robb Elementary, he said he was going to shoot up an elementary school.
- The private, one-to-one messages were sent via Facebook, and were “discovered after the terrible tragedy,” company spokesman Andy Stone said. He said Facebook is cooperating with investigators.
- The gunman had legally bought the rifle and a second one like it last week, just after his birthday, authorities said.
- Investigators have so far shed no light on the motive for the attack.
- At least 17 of the 19 young victims have so far been identified. A law enforcement official said all victims were in the same fourth-grade classroom.
- Community members attended a prayer vigil Wednesday evening at the Uvalde County Fairplex Arena.
- Authorities in Texas have called for more armed officers and armed teachers in schools, though Republican leaders have doubled down on their opposition to gun control.
- The National Rifle Association released a statement describing the shooting as “the act of a lone, deranged criminal” and pledged to “redouble our commitment to make our schools secure”. The group will gather in Houston for its first annual meeting in three years this weekend.
- US president Joe Biden said he is “sick and tired” of continued mass shootings in the US and access to military-style weapons for youth. “When in God’s name will we do what needs to be done to, not completely stop, but fundamentally change the amount of carnage that goes on in this country.” he said. “To state the obvious, I’m sick and tired, I’m just sick and tired of what is going on, what continues to go on.”
- More to follow….