UVALDE,May25(ABC): A teenage gunman opened fire in a south Texas elementary school on Tuesday, killing at least 18 children and one adult, before he was also killed, officials said, the latest mass murder as the United States is gripped by an epidemic gun violence.
Governor Greg Abbott said the suspect, identified as 18-year-old Salvador Ramos, was apparently killed by police officers responding to the scene, and that two officers were struck by gunfire, though the governor said their injuries were not serious.
Authorities said the suspect acted alone.
The confusion of the moment saw the accounts of the death toll vary until the state attorney general’s office in an official statement put the tally of lives lost at 18 children and two adults, including the shooter. Judging from the grades of the students enrolled at the school, the children ranged in age from 7 to 10.
The motive for the massacre was not immediately known.