Texas: Gunman opens fire at elementary school, killing at least 19 children

A gunman who opened fire in an elementary school in Texas on Tuesday killed at least 19 children and two adults, marking the deadliest school shooting in the state’s history and the worst in the US in the last decade.

The deadly shooting took place at the Robb elementary school in Uvalde, a heavily Latino community west of San Antonio near the Mexico border.

Three people wounded in the attack remained hospitalised in serious condition.

The shooter died at the scene, shot by responding officers. Two officers were struck by rounds, but sustained no serious injuries.

An Uvalde police spokesperson did not confirm the numbers, identities or ages of the dead as given by the governor. But he did say the school “has children that are in second-, third- and fourth-grade”, meaning many of the victims were likely between the ages of seven and ten.

The shooting took place at approximately 11:30am on Tuesday, in what was the last week of school.

The gunman entered the school with a handgun and possibly a rifle, Abbott said. Officials did not immediately reveal a motive and said they believed the shooter acted alone. Abbott identified the gunman as 18-year-old Salvador Ramos from Uvalde.

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The gunman wore body armor and had hinted on social media of an upcoming attack, Sgt Erick Estrada of the Texas department of public safety told CNN.

The suspect shot his grandmother before heading to the school with two military-style rifles he had purchased on his birthday.

In the hours after the shooting relatives turned to social media in a desperate attempt to find their children. On social media, pictures of smiling children were posted, their families begging for information.

Joe Biden, who lost his young daughter in a car crash and a son to cancer, addressed the nation in an emotional speech: “To lose a child is like having a piece of your soul ripped away. There’s a hollowness in your chest, you feel like you’re being sucked into it and you’re never going to be able to get out.”

“May God bless the memory of the victims, and in the words of Scripture, heal the brokenhearted and bind up their wounds,” said former president Barack Obama.

The shooting immediately renewed calls for stricter gun control. The massacre was the 27th school shooting this year in the US, according to Education Week.