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The gunman behind a lethal mass capturing at a Texas elementary college barricaded himself inside a classroom and opened hearth whereas lecturers broke home windows all through the college to attempt to save different youngsters, a regulation enforcement official stated Wednesday.
Lt. Christopher Olivarez, of the Texas Division Public Security, detailed Tuesday’s horrific ordeal throughout an interview with “CBS Mornings” co-host Tony Dokoupil.
He stated the 18-year-old shooter stormed Robb Elementary Faculty within the small metropolis of Uvalde shortly after crashing his automotive within the space and instantly engaged in gunfire with state troopers on the scene. The gunman shot a number of cops after which locked himself in a classroom, Olivarez stated.
“At that time, [he] simply began capturing youngsters and lecturers that had been inside that classroom, having no regard for human life,” Olivarez stated. “Only a full tragedy. An evil individual going into the college and killing youngsters for no motive in any way.”
Authorities stated 19 youngsters and two adults had been killed within the assault — which is the deadliest college capturing since December 2012, when a gunman opened hearth at Sandy Hook Elementary Faculty in Newtown, Connecticut.
The Texas shooter, recognized as Salvador Ramos, was killed by regulation enforcement, authorities stated.
Earlier than the assault at Robb Elementary — attended by college students from second to fourth grade —the gunman was concerned in a home disturbance along with his grandmother, Olivarez stated. The killer shot the girl, fled the house in a automotive and crashed simply outdoors the college, the place he then deserted the car, the lieutenant stated.
The grandmother remained hospitalized Wednesday morning.
Olivarez stated state police discovered the shooter was making his method into the college and had been the primary to reply.
“They heard the gunfire,” stated Olivarez. “They noticed the shooter. At that time, they had been met with gunfire by the shooter. A number of cops had been shot.”
Because the gunman opened hearth inside a classroom, lecturers in different rooms started “breaking home windows making an attempt to evacuate youngsters to forestall any additional lack of life,” the lieutenant stated.
“The preliminary officers that had been on scene, they had been at a degree of drawback,” stated Olivarez. “There was no method they had been capable of make entry, particularly with the quantity of manpower that was on scene. So at that time, their major focus was to evacuate as many youngsters as potential.”
Whereas serving to with the evacuations, officers “saved listening to the gunfire,” Olivarez stated.
A specialised tactical unit made up of native, state and federal regulation enforcement officers ultimately went into the classroom, Olivarez stated. A kind of officers was shot, however he has since left the hospital, Olivarez stated.
A preliminary investigation signifies the shooter was armed with a handgun, an AR-15 assault weapon and excessive capability magazines, regulation enforcement sources advised CBS Information. Federal firearm investigators try to find out how he obtained the weapons, Olivarez stated.
The gunman lived along with his grandparents within the Uvalde space and attended an area highschool, the lieutenant stated. He was unemployed and had no recognized prison historical past or gang affiliation, Olivarez stated. The shooter’s motive stays beneath investigation.
“That is what we’re nonetheless making an attempt to find out — precisely what the motives had been, what the indications had been, if there have been purple flags previous to this mass capturing,” Olivarez stated.
The capturing comes simply 10 days after one other bloodbath, described by authorities as “racially motivated,” left 10 individuals lifeless at a grocery retailer in Buffalo, New York.
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