19 children, two teachers killed in 27th school shooting incident in US this year

News, US May 26, 2022 , by IRIA No Comments

A shooting incident at an elementary school in Texas on May 25, resulted in the death of 19 children and two adults, marking for 27th school shooting incident this year.

According to the state officials, an 18-years old gunman entered Robb Elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, and barricaded himself in a classroom where he started to shoot ‘anyone in his way’. Texas Governor Greg Abbott announced that the shooter was killed by security forces during the operation.

Lieutenant Chris Olivarez, a spokesman for the Texas Department of Public Safety said that “the shooter was able to make entry into a classroom, barricaded himself inside that classroom and again, just began shooting numerous children and teachers who were in that classroom, having no regard for human life, just a complete evil person.”

The incident took place in Uvalde, a small community about 130 kilometers west of San Antonio, Texas. Law enforcement officials who responded to the incident met with gunfire upon arriving at the scene. However, they managed to enter the building after facing some armed retaliation from the shooter.

“Some of those officers were shot. At that point, they began breaking windows around the school, trying to evacuate children, teachers, anybody they could, trying to get them out of that building that school.” Olivarez said.

The recent school shooting comes only 10 days after a racially incited mass shooting incident that took place at a supermarket in Buffalo, N.Y. It resulted in the death of 10 people. Inspired by the shooting attacks of Christchurch in New Zealand and Halle in Germany, the 18-years old attacker from Conklin, N.Y. live-streamed himself killing 10 people and injuring three others.

Alarmingly increasing frequency of armed attacks and gun violence has become a major concern for lawmakers and law enforcement agencies in the United States. There have been 27 school shooting incidents while 212 mass shooting incidents have been reported this year.

*^{Esmeralda Bravo, 63, sheds tears for her granddaughter, Nevaeh, who was one of the 19 children killed in the Robb Elementary School attack. (Image Credit: Jae C. Hong/AP)}*

According to the U.S. Congressional Research Service, a mass shooting is an incident of gun violence in which at least four people are killed or shot in one location.

Many critics believe that the U.S. gun control laws are extremely lenient allowing guns to fall into the hands of reckless killers. Texas has one of the least restrictive gun laws in the whole country. In 2015, current Texas Governor Greg Abbott expressed his disappointment in his fellow Texans after his state was ranked second in new guns purchase, behind California. “Let’s pick up the pace Texans,” he tweeted.

Abbott, a Republican, is set to speak at the annual meeting of the National Rifle Association (NRA) annual meeting, which begins on May 27, in Houston, Texas. Former U.S. President Donald Trump and Republican Senator Ted Cruz are also expected to speak during the event.

The recent tragic incident of the school shooting has reignited the debate over gun control laws in America. President Joe Biden also has called on Congress to “stand up” to powerful gun lobby groups, who for years have opposed efforts at the state and federal levels to put gun control measures in place.

“When in God’s name are we going to stand up to the gun lobby? Why are we willing to live with this carnage? Why do we keep letting this happen?,” U.S. President Biden said. He also urged the urgency to address the gun violence in the U.S. and said that “It’s time we turned this pain into action”.