21 killed in Texas school shooting, gunman dead; NJ lawmakers react
This story has been updated with the latest information as of Wednesday morning.
UVALDE, Texas — Authorities in Texas are providing more details about the gunman's movements and the police response to the killings of 19 children and two adults at an elementary school.
Lt. Christopher Olivarez of the Texas Department of Public Safety told NBC’s `Today’ show that the Uvalde Police Department was first alerted to a crashed vehicle and an armed person making his way into the school.
Police and state troopers arrived in time to hear gunshots inside a classroom where the man barricaded himself and began shooting children and teachers. Olivarez said some of the officers were shot by the gunman, so others began breaking windows around the school trying to evacuate children and teachers.
Olivarez said “tactical law enforcement” forced their way into the classroom, where “they were met with gunfire as well but they were able to shoot and kill that suspect.’
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Reaction from NJ lawmakers:
Governor Phil Murphy:
Senator Bob Menendez:
Senator Cory Booker:
U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone Jr., D-N.J. 6th District:
Pope Francis has said he was “heartbroken about the massacre.”
Francis spoke Wednesday during his general audience. He said he was praying for the children and adults killed and their families after a gunman opened fire at an elementary school in the heavily Latino town of Uvalde, Texas, killing at least 19 children and two adults before an officer shot and killed the gunman.
“It’s time to say ‘Enough’ to the indiscriminate trade of weapons!” he said. Francis called for a renewed commitment “so that tragedies like this cannot occur again.”
The Argentine pope has long railed against the weapons industry, calling arms manufacturers “merchants of death.”
President of Ukraine sends condolences
Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskyy said Wednesday that he was “deeply saddened by the news of the murder of innocent children in Texas.”
Zelenskyy, in a tweet, sent his condolences to the families of the victims, the people of the U.S. and President Joe Biden after a gunman opened fire Tuesday at an elementary school in the heavily Latino town of Uvalde, Texas, killing at least 19 children and two adults before an officer shot and killed the gunman.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said, “As a nation that goes through the pain of losing innocent young lives, Ukraine shares the pain of our U.S. friends.”