Gunman posted messages about attack right before shooting, governor said

Texas Governor Greg Abbott explained Wednesday that the gunman who opened fire at an elementary college in Uvalde, Texas, killing 19 youngsters and two academics, claimed on Facebook just in advance of the capturing that he was heading to attack a faculty. The gunman, discovered as an 18-calendar year-aged gentleman from the place, was killed by regulation enforcement, police stated. 

Abbott claimed the gunman wrote a few messages on Fb prior to the attack: after, about 30 minutes just before the school shooting, to say he was likely to shoot his grandmother, the moment to say he had shot his grandmother, and a third time — approximately 15 minutes before the shooting — to say he was going to open up fire at an elementary university. 

Fb said the posts “have been personal one-to-one textual content messages that were being discovered following the horrible tragedy happened,” and that the business is “closely cooperating with regulation enforcement.”

Authorities stated the gunman shot his 66-calendar year-aged grandmother in the facial area in advance of the university capturing. She contacted law enforcement and the suspect fled, later crashing his grandmother’s car about a block from the school. He then exited the car and took a backpack and one particular rifle with him.  

A district police officer engaged the gunman when he arrived at the college, but the shooter was able to enter a back door, travel down two quick hallways and enter a classroom, which was related internally to a different classroom, Abbott reported. 

The gunman then barricaded himself in the classroom, Lt. Christopher Olivarez of the Texas Office General public Safety advised “CBS Mornings.”

“At that position, [he] just started off shooting children and lecturers that were inside that classroom, having no regard for human lifestyle,” Olivarez mentioned. “Just a entire tragedy. An evil individual likely into the college and killing small children for no rationale in any respect.”

Texas Division of Public Protection Director Steven McCraw claimed the gunman ordered two semi-automatic rifles and ammunition at a community sporting products retail outlet, just one of which he brought with him into the school. McCraw explained the suspect acquired the weapons in March at the push conference, but the Division of Community Protection afterwards confirmed he bought the weapons on May perhaps 17 and May possibly 20. 

Olivarez stated the officers who very first responded to the scene “were being at a level of downside” and have been not capable to make entry. 

“There was no way they were capable to make entry, specially with the amount of manpower that was on scene,” he mentioned. “So at that stage, their principal concentrate was to evacuate as numerous young children as achievable.”

A specialised tactical device manufactured of local, point out and federal regulation enforcement officers ended up inevitably capable to enter the classroom, authorities stated. 3 officers were being injured, and all are in fantastic issue, Abbott claimed. 

McCraw recommended the officers who engaged the shooter right before the tactical unit entered, expressing they saved lives by holding him “pinned down” at his place. 

“Of course this is a situation  we unsuccessful in the sense that we didn’t avert this mass assault — but I can convey to you, these officers that arrived on the scene and set their life in threat, they saved other little ones,” he reported. “They kept him pinned down, and we’re really proud of that.”  

Abbott on Wednesday heralded the “incredible courage” of regulation enforcement, for “functioning towards gunfire for the singular purpose of attempting to help you save life.” 

He observed that one particular sheriff’s deputy misplaced a daughter in the capturing. 

“Evil swept throughout Uvalde yesterday,” Abbott mentioned. “Days ahead of yesterday, when these kids ended up in school, some were being receiving awards for great attendance — these children will by no means show up at university all over again.” 

Abbott stated 17 other folks sustained non-lifetime threatening injuries in the shooting. 

Abbott on Tuesday determined the gunman as 18-yr-previous Salvador Ramos. On Wednesday, Abbott stated the gunman was reportedly a significant faculty dropout with no felony history and no documented psychological health and fitness problems. Abbott reported there was “no meaningful forewarning,” other than the Facebook messages. 

Two law enforcement officers advised CBS News that the gunman received into a combat with his grandmother on Tuesday early morning right before the shooting. Preliminary info implies the battle was above who would spend a cellphone invoice. Officials pressured that the information and facts is preliminary and they are investigating it additional. 

In response to a issue at the press convention Wednesday, Abbott stated he did not program to put into action gun constraints like people in other states, declaring they haven’t stopped shootings.

Abbott continuously cited mental wellbeing, telling reporters that “the skill of an 18-yr-previous to acquire a prolonged gun has been in put in the condition of Texas for more than 60 decades. And feel about throughout the time, around the study course of that 60 a long time, we have not experienced episodes like this.”

Texas has in simple fact witnessed numerous, fatal mass shootings in latest decades at faculties, churches, shopping facilities and other venues — 244 mass shooting incidents (individuals with 4 or much more victims) considering that 2014, in accordance to facts from the Gun Violence Archive. Nationwide, the FBI reviews the variety of “energetic shooter” incidents rose additional than 50% in 2021 when compared to the year prior to.

The assault was the deadliest mass shooting at an elementary school given that a gunman killed 26 people, including 20 initially-graders, at Sandy Hook Elementary College in 2012. Several, together with President Biden, invoked Sandy Hook and the a lot of mass shootings that have followed to simply call for stronger gun regulations. 

“As a nation, we have to inquire, when in God’s identify are we likely to stand up to the gun foyer?” Mr. Biden stated in an handle from the White Dwelling Tuesday night time. “When in God’s identify will we do what we all know in our gut desires to be carried out?” 

“These types of mass shootings not often occur anyplace else in the entire world. Why?” the president claimed. “They have mental well being challenges. They have domestic disputes in other nations. They have persons who are lost, but these forms of mass shootings hardly ever occur with the sort of frequency they transpire in The united states. Why? Why are we prepared to stay with this carnage?”