Jae C. Hong/AP
Shocking details about the mass shooting at a Uvalde, Texas, elementary school on Tuesday afternoon are emerging, calling into question the response of some law enforcement officials and highlighting the bravery of others.
An 18-year-old, who purchased the firearms reportedly used on Tuesday days earlier, was running from law enforcement officials after he shot his grandmother and opened fire on a funeral home Tuesday morning. The man entered Robb Elementary School, where he barricaded himself in a classroom and killed 19 children and two teachers.
An unnamed border patrol agent later entered the building and killed the shooter.
Follow along here for updates throughout the day.
11:47 AM
May 26, 2022
Border Patrol agents embarked on ‘suicide’ mission to take down ‘barricaded’ Uvalde gunman
UVALDE, Texas — The elite tactical agents in the U.S. Border Patrol credited with taking down the gunman in Tuesday’s mass shooting at Robb Elementary School recognized that they were attempting a “suicide” mission but took action in spite of that, according to a senior Homeland Security official.
Parents on scene outside the school amid the chaos criticized law enforcement outside for taking too long to act, but a senior federal law enforcement official familiar with the investigation into the incident told the Washington Examiner on Thursday that the Border Patrol agents on site that day had been appointed by the local and state law enforcement on site to lead that aspect of the response.
This story will be updated
11:39 AM
May 26, 2022
Texas senator says he’ll talk with colleague about red flag laws after visiting Uvalde
J. Scott Applewhite
One of Texas’s senators said he was going to talk with a colleague whose state also suffered a mass shooting about red flag laws.
Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) will reportedly talk with Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) about the provisions that could help keep firearms out of the hands of dangerous individuals.
CORNYN tells @siobhanehughes that he is going to talk to MURPHY about red flag laws, one day after he returned from Uvalde
— Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) May 26, 2022
Red flag laws, in theory, have broad, bipartisan support, but not everyone believes that preventing someone from purchasing — or taking away lawfully owned — firearms before someone has committed a crime is a good or effective idea.
Even if Murphy can persuade Cornyn to further explore the idea of implementing a red flag law in his state, Cornyn’s colleague Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) has stated his firm opposition to the idea.
11:19 AM
May 26, 2022
Support rising for both gun restrictions and arming teachers, poll shows
Jae C. Hong/AP
In the wake of the mass shooting at a Texas elementary school that left at least 19 children and two adults dead, voters broadly support certain firearm restrictions, but a majority also supports a proposal to arm teachers, according to a new poll.
A new Politico/Morning Consult poll conducted entirely after the shooting in Uvalde, Texas, found that 88% strongly or somewhat support requiring background checks on all gun sales, while just 8% strongly or somewhat oppose that proposal.
Click here to read the full report.
11:07 AM
May 26, 2022
‘One of the worst tweets in history’: Obama compares George Floyd to Uvalde shooting
(AP Photos)
Former President Barack Obama is facing online scrutiny after mentioning George Floyd amid grief concerning the Texas elementary school shooting.
Obama’s tweet that called for the remembrance of Floyd’s death came Wednesday afternoon, one day after a gunman killed 19 children and two teachers in a classroom of an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas.
Click here to read the full report.
10:45 AM
May 26, 2022
What reforms are on the table after the Uvalde school tragedy?
Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP
President Joe Biden and congressional Democrats spent the hours after a mass shooting at a Texas elementary school calling on Congress to revisit gun control solutions that have, for years, failed to attract bipartisan support.
“As a nation, we have to ask: When in God’s name are we going to stand up to the gun lobby?” Biden said during a prime-time address Tuesday evening, responding to the massacre that left 19 children and two teachers dead.
Click here to read the full report.
10:39 AM
May 26, 2022
Uvalde mayor slams Beto O’Rourke interruption at press conference
Dario Lopez-Mills/AP
The mayor of Uvalde had a few choice words for Texas gubernatorial candidate Beto O’Rourke after he interrupted a press conference about the Tuesday school shooting.
Mayor Don McLaughlin initially intervened during the interruption to tell O’Rourke, “You’re a sick son of a b**** that would come to a deal like this to make a political issue.” He later expanded on the remarks to denounce O’Rourke’s attempt to make a political point during the briefing.
Click here to read the full report.
9:56 AM
May 26, 2022
Elon Musk says ‘special permit’ should be required to buy ‘assault rifles’
Patrick Pleul/AP
Elon Musk offered his thoughts on regulating the sale of semi-automatic rifles on Thursday, saying he believes at the very least “a special permit” should be required for buyers.
The SpaceX and Tesla CEO gave his opinion on Twitter after being asked for his thoughts on the “AR-15 discussion.” His Thursday tweet comes after telling a news outlet on Wednesday that he supports “tight” background checks on people purchasing firearms following a school shooting at an elementary school in Texas that killed 19 children and two adults.
Click here to read the full report.
9:55 AM
May 26, 2022
SEE IT: Picture shows shrapnel wound on Uvalde hero Border Patrol cop’s head
UVALDE, TEXAS – The elite Border Patrol tactical agent who took down the Uvalde shooter sustained a wound to the head after being brazed by a bullet.
The Washington Examiner obtained a picture of the wound, showing just how close the agent himself came to death as he risked his life to stop 18-year-old shooter Salvador Ramos. A separate picture obtained by Fox News shows the border agent’s hat with a hole ripped at the top.
NEW: This is the hat the elite, veteran BORTAC Border Patrol agent was wearing when he breached the classroom with a tactical team and engaged/killed the Uvalde school shooter, a CBP source tells me. Graze wound to head. Many BP agents in Uvalde have kids at the school. @FoxNews pic.twitter.com/924WCOZjsK
— Bill Melugin (@BillFOXLA) May 25, 2022
Click here to read the full report.
9:52 AM
May 26, 2022
Parents begged police for upward of 40 minutes to stop Texas school shooter: Report
(AP Photo/Dario Lopez-Mills)
Police stood by for upward of 40 minutes after a gunman stormed into an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, on Tuesday and killed 19 children and two teachers in a classroom, according to a new report.
Investigators are piecing together what happened over the course of the massacre, which ended with a Border Patrol team rushing in and killing the 18-year-old shooter. Witnesses cited by the Associated Press recalled shouting at police to enter the building to save the people inside. One even proposed having bystanders do the job that officers apparently refused to do as they stood outside.
Click here to read the full report.
