At least 19 children killed in Texas elementary school shooting

“We’re a small community and we’re going to need your prayers to get through this,” Uvalde schools superintendent Hal Harrell said Tuesday. Officials updated the death toll in the shooting at Robb Elementary School in the small Texas town to 19 children and two adults. Three people injured in the shooting were in critical condition, and the shooter was dead, killed by a Border Patrol agent who rushed into the school without waiting for backup.

Who was the shooter? Texas Gov. Greg Abbott in an afternoon news conference identified the suspect as an 18-year-old Uvalde High School student. Abbott said the teenager allegedly shot his grandmother before going to Robb Elementary. The elementary school's last day before summer break was planned for Thursday. It has an enrollment of just under 550 students. Abbott said the shooter had a handgun and possibly a rifle. Police did not comment on a possible motive. President Joe Biden addressed the nation Tuesday evening to call for more gun control. “Why are we willing to live with this carnage? Why do we keep letting this happen?” the president asked.

Dig deeper: From the WORLD archives, read Emily Belz’s report from Newtown, Conn., on the aftermath of a 2012 mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School.