Texas : An 18-year-old shot and killed 19 students and two teachers at an elementary school in Texas, US, on Tuesday, May 24. He also killed his grandmother. Soon after the incident, the shooter was shot dead by responding officers. The incident shocked the country and the world, reigniting the debate over more restrictions on gun use in the US.
Tuesday's mass shooting incident is the latest among a series of recent incidents and comes just a few days after a gunman opened fire on passersby at a Chicago locality, killing two people.
Here’s what we know about the case so far:
1. An 18-year-old resident of Uvalde, identified as Salvador Ramos, believed to be armed with a handgun and a rifle, opened fire on Tuesday morning at children and staffers of Robb Elementary School in the city in Texas, US. At least 19 students and three adults were killed in the incident.
2. Salvador Ramos allegedly shot his grandmother before going to Robb Elementary School in Uvalde.
3. Governor Greg Abbott of Texas said he would “fully investigate” the incident. “I have instructed the Texas Department of Public Safety and the Texas Rangers to work with local law enforcement to fully investigate this crime. The Texas Division of Emergency Management is charged with providing local officials with all resources necessary to respond to this tragedy as the State of Texas works to ensure the community has what it needs to heal,” he said.
4. Officials said that Salvador Ramos was shot dead by responding officers after the tragedy. They said that Ramos went to a high school in the same district.
5. Two officers were also injured in a brief exchange of fire with Salvador.
6. US President Joe Biden made an emotional call for new restrictions on firearms. “When in God’s name are we going to stand up to the gun lobby?” Biden said at the White House shortly after returning from a five-day trip to Asia.
7. Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, however, explicitly ruled out new gun laws. “Our nation needs to take a serious look at the state of mental health today,” the Republican tweeted.
8. Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez criticised the Republicans for their continued opposition to gun control despite back-to-back mass shootings in the US.
9. Former US President Barack Obama released a statement on Twitter on Tuesday night, calling for action to prevent further gun violence. “Across the country, parents are putting their children to bed, reading stories, singing lullabies — and in the back of their minds, they're worried about what might happen tomorrow after they drop their kids off at school, or take them to a grocery store or any other public space. It's long past time for action, any kind of action,” he said.
10. US Vice-President Kamala Harris called for policy changes to ensure such an incident never happens again. "As a nation, we have to have the courage to take action and understand the nexus between what makes for reasonable and sensible public policy to ensure something like this never happens again,” Harris said.