The suspect, an 18-year-old man who resided in Uvalde, was also dead and likely killed by officers who responded to the scene, said Republican Gov. Greg Abbott. State police have identified the suspect as Salvador Ramos.
According to the Texas Department of Public Safety, the shooter crashed his car near the school, got out with a gun, and was wearing a bulletproof vest. The suspect was able to get into the school and fire his weapon in the classroom.
The man drove toward the school with two military-style rifles after shooting his grandmother. He bought the guns on his 18th birthday, according to a state senator. Three people hospitalized in the attack were listed in serious condition.
Several people were injured, and the grandmother is in critical condition. Some of the victims' families have been notified, but he isn't sure if all proper notifications have been made. According to local news reports, some parents were still looking for their children while others were having their DNA taken to help law enforcement identify the victims. The reports couldn't be confirmed by Estrada.
President Joe Biden was on his way to the United States when details about Tuesday's attack began to circulate. The White House press secretary said that he spoke to Abbott aboard Air Force One to offer assistance.
After arriving at the White House Tuesday evening, the president delivered a raw and emotional address in the Roosevelt Room. He talked about the deep-seeded grief of losing a child, something he knows all too well.
Biden said that losing a child is like having a piece of your soul ripped away. Suffocating.
He noted the number of days since he addressed the Sandy Hook shooting as vice president. Biden asked what it would take for lawmakers to act.
Biden asked if they were going to stand up to the gun lobby.
Vice President Harris spoke at an event Tuesday evening, repeatedly saying "enough is enough."
In a moment like this, we would all say that our hearts break, but our hearts keep getting broken, she said. Every time we have had a tragedy like this, our hearts break and our broken hearts are nothing compared to the broken hearts of those families. Enough is enough. As a nation, we have to have the courage to take action and understand what makes for sensible public policy. To make sure something like this doesn't happen again.
Chris Murphy spoke in the Senate shortly after the initial death toll was announced, and he mentioned the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre in Connecticut.
Just days after a shooter walked into a grocery store to gun down African American patrons, we have another Sandy Hook on our hands.
This isn't inevitable. These kids were not unlucky. Murphy said that this only happens in this country. I have had to explain to my kids why they were locked into a bathroom and told to be quiet for five minutes if there was a bad man in the building. Only in the United States of America can that happen. It is a choice. We can let it continue.
The governor of California, a Democrat, sent a similar message. The GOP won't do anything about it. If we can't keep our kids safe, who are we? This is preventable. Our actions are a choice.
The Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District said on their Facebook page that there was an active shooter at Robb Elementary School.
The last day of school was set for Thursday at the elementary school in the heavily Latino community. Students in the second, third and fourth grades attend Robb Elementary School.
A message on the school's website Tuesday asked parents to not pick up their children at the time. Students were taken to the civil center for reunification.
Students need to be accounted for before they are released. Once all students are accounted for, you will be notified to pick up students.
The FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are assisting with the investigation.
The Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Connecticut left 20 children and six adults dead, and gun safety advocates and Democrats highlighted the years of legislative inaction. The White House tried to pass an expansive gun control bill, but it failed.
Even as new tragedies spur members to make new promises to change gun policies, congressional efforts to pass legislation to curb gun violence have failed countless times. Since the Sandy Hook shooting in 2012 there have been more than 3,500 mass shootings in the nation.
In Buffalo last week, Biden called on lawmakers to pass legislation to keep assault weapons off the streets.
It wasn't immediately clear how much the shooting would affect the convention. The lawmaker notified the gun group he wouldn't be attending the event, according to his spokesman.
Drew Brandewie, a Cornyn spokesman, said that before the tragedy in Uvalde we had already told the NRA he would not be able to speak.
The report includes material from the Associated Press.
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