President Biden will address the nation after 8 p.m. Tuesday night
President Joe Biden will address the nation at 8:15 p.m. tonight after a gunman killed 15 people at a Texas elementary school, announced White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.
Biden ordered all flags at the White House and on federal grounds to fly at half-staff until sundown on May 28 in honor of the victims.
The president was briefed on the devastating mass shooting aboard Air Force One as he returned from his first trip to Asia as commander in chief.
Biden was originally scheduled to return late Tuesday with no events scheduled.
He “will continue to be updated regularly as information becomes available,” his spokesman said.
“His prayers are with the families affected by this terrible event and he will speak tonight when he arrives back at the White House,” added Jean-Pierre.
She called the shooting a “terrible” event.
Biden visited leaders in South Korea and Japan to reiterate the United States’ commitment to allies in the region and to warn China that it cannot operate unchecked.
But he’s returning to face his administration’s deadliest school shooting, and the worst since a teenage gunman killed 17 people at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida in February 2018.
At least 14 elementary school students and one teacher are dead after an 18-year-old opened fire at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, the governor told the press Tuesday afternoon.
Thirteen students are being treated at Uvalde Memorial Hospital, as is a 45-year-old man who suffered a “graze”.
Police are proceeding near Robb Elementary School following the deadly shooting Tuesday, May 24
At least 14 students and one teacher are dead, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said
The 18-year-old gunman was also killed by police, officials said
Salvador Ramos, 18, shot his grandmother before he went to Robb Primary School in Uvalde; nearby border guards involved in a shootout; and then he barricaded himself in the school, killing 14 students and one teacher
The gunman, identified as 18-year-old Salvador Ramos, a student at Uvalde High School, was involved in a shootout with Border Patrol agents and had barricaded himself inside the school facility. He died after a shootout with law enforcement, Abbott said.
“Texans across the state are mourning the victims of this senseless crime and the community of Uvalde,” the governor said in a statement.
“Cecilia and I mourn this terrible loss and we call on all Texans to come together to show our unwavering support to all who are suffering. Thank you to the brave first responders who worked to finally secure Robb Elementary School.’
Abbott is scheduled to speak with Donald Trump and Texas Senator Ted Cruz at a National Rifle Association event in Houston on Friday — just three days after the shooting.
A visibly distraught Senator Chris Murphy asked in the Senate: “What are we doing? What do we do?’
“We have another sandy hook on our hands,” the Connecticut Democrat said.
He said it was a “choice” to continue the mass shootings unabated without passing any meaningful reform.
Press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre announced Biden would be kept informed of the shooting
“It wasn’t inevitable. Those kids weren’t unlucky,” Murphy said. “Nowhere else do little children go to school thinking they might be shot that day.”
Its Democratic representative, Rep. Adam Schiff of California, expressed his horror at the situation before blaming Republicans for their opposition to stricter gun control measures.
“The shooting at Robb Elementary in Texas is a horror. My heart aches for the families who have been devastated by this tragedy and the Uvalde community,” Schiff said.
“Children are dying and we could do something about it. But the GOP will not stand up to the gun lobby. Shame doesn’t begin to cover it up.’
Uvalde School District Police Chief Pete Arredondo said in a news conference Tuesday afternoon that the elementary school, which has 600 students, serves children in grades two, three and four.
Arredondo confirmed that the shooter acted alone.
GOP MP Tony Gonzales, in whose district the shooting took place, said: “It is devastating when our innocent children become victims of senseless violence. We are devastated.’
Gonzales was among the majority of Republican lawmakers who voted against expanding gun control measures at the federal level.
With an enrollment of 600 students, Robb Elementary School is located in Uvalde – 60 miles east of the Mexico border and 80 miles west of San Antonio
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi condemned the “monstrous” shooting before directing her anger at colleagues who stood in the way of gun reform.
“Words fail to describe the agony and outrage at the cold blooded massacre of young school children and a teacher at Robb Elementary School today,” Pelosi said in a statement.
“This monstrous gunfight has stolen the future of precious children who will never have the joys of graduating from school, pursuing their dream careers, falling in love and even raising families of their own.”
Referring to the spate of mass shootings in recent weeks, the Democrat continued, “Across the country, Americans are filled with righteous anger after several incomprehensible mass shootings in just a few days.”
“This is a crisis of existential proportions — for our children and for every American. For too long some in Congress have spoken hollow words in the wake of these shootings while resisting every effort to save lives,” she said.
“It is time for everyone in Congress to heed the will of the American people and use common sense in passing the bipartisan, life-saving legislation passed by the House of Representatives.”
