At least 19 children and two adults were killed in a school in Uvalde, Texas, on Tuesday when an 18-year-old boy entered with a gun and opened fire.
He was identified as Salvador Ramos, a 15,000 city-dweller and American citizen located approximately 135 kilometers from San Antonio.
Texas Governor Greg Abbot said Ramos died after shooting back and forth with police at school. Two of the officers were shot, but Abbot said their condition was stable.
The victims were 2nd, 3rd or 4th grade students aged seven to 10 years. Two teachers were also killed in the attack.
The motive for the crime is still unclear, but everything points to Ramos acting alone, according to police.
The young man was driving a pickup truck that crashed into a ditch just meters from Robb Elementary School, where he entered and started shooting.
According to the American newspaper The New York Times, the school has about 500 students, 90% of whom are of Latino descent. According to the newspaper, 87% of students come from disadvantaged families.
It was alleged that before leaving the house, Ramos also shot his grandmother, who was taken to the hospital in serious condition.
Image: Texas Police
The Abbot said that Ramos resided in Uvalde and attended a nearby school.
Sergeant Erick Estrada of the Texas Department of Public Safety told CNN that police watched the young man wearing a bulletproof vest exit the crashed vehicle with a rifle he used to open fire at the scene.
Police said Ramos was armed with a pistol, an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle and high-capacity magazines.
Police first released information that the young man was “in custody”, but later reported that he died during a shootout with police officers.
The Associated Press news agency reported that when the conflict broke out, a US Border Patrol officer who was nearby entered the school and shot and killed the gunman behind a barricade.
Image: Getty Images
“The attacker is dead and we are not actively looking for another person or any other suspect in this incident,” local police chief Pete Arredondo told reporters.
Two border agents were reportedly killed during the exchange with Ramos, one of whom was shot in the head. Officials said both are in stable condition at the hospital.
Sources close to the investigation into the attack told The Washington Post that the gunman recently turned 18 and has no criminal record.
source: Noticias
