Texas shooting: Uvalde mayor says local police did not mislead anyone about law enforcement response

Nearly 50,000 donators have contributed over $2.7 million to a GoFundMe campaign for Irma Garcia, the 4th-grade teacher who bravely saved students during a mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. 

Garcia was one of two teachers killed last Tuesday, that also left 19 children dead.

“She would literally do anything for anybody,” the donation page said. “She loved her classroom kids and died trying to protect them.”

Irma Garcia's cross stands at a memorial site for the victims killed in this week's shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, Friday, May 27, 2022. (AP Photo/Dario Lopez-Mills)

Her husband, Joe Garcia, died just days after the tragic shooting and the funds will go to help their four surviving children.

"Joe died of a broken heart and losing the love of his life of more than 25 years was too much to bear," the campaign added.

Other fundraising campaigns have been created for Eva Mireles, the other teacher killed Tuesday, as well as many of the students and their families.

Despite several calls for emergency assistance from within Robb Elementary School, law enforcement officers waited outside for over 70 minutes while suspected gunman Salvador Ramos gunned down 19 children and two teachers in a classroom.

The excruciating delay is a ghastly detail that frustrates the grieving Uvalde community and several of the residents want the officers who made the decision held accountable.

“You sign up to respond to those kinds of situations” said Juan Torres, an Uvalde resident and U.S. Army veteran. “If you are scared, then don’t be a police officer. Go flip burgers.”

At the center of the blame is Pete Arredondo, the school district's homegrown police chief who was the commander at the scene for Tuesday's mass shooting.

Uvalde School Police Chief Pete Arredondo, third from left, stands during a news conference outside of the Robb Elementary school in Uvalde, Texas Thursday, May 26, 2022. (AP Photo/Dario Lopez-Mills)

Arredondo, 50, instructed officers not to breach a classroom at Robb Elementary School sooner, as he did not believe children were still at risk — a decision the director of state police later said was "wrong."

Arredondo, who grew up in Uvalde and graduated from high school in the city, took the head police job at the school district in 2020.

“He dropped the ball maybe because he did not have enough experience. Who knows? People are very angry," said Maria Gonzalez, who knew Arredondo as a boy.

The U.S. Justice Department announced they are investigating the police response to the school shooting.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Salvatore Di Grazia, a teacher visiting from Rio Grande Valley, Texas, prays at a memorial at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas Monday, May 30, 2022, for the victims killed in last week's school shooting. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

This week was supposed to kick off the summer vacation for Robb Elementary School students in Uvalde, Texas, but following a mass shooting last week, many people in the community are instead spending their week attending the funeral services for the 21 victims.

A gathering for 10-year-old Amerie Jo Garza was held at Hillcrest Memorial Funeral Home Monday while another visitation for 10-year-old Maite Rodriguez was at the small town's other funeral home.

Eleven more funerals are planned later this week, which will include a service for teacher Irma Garcia.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Disturbing new video obtained by the New York Post appears to show Texas school shooting suspect Salvador Ramos holding up a bag of dead cats.

Ramos is sitting in the passenger seat of a car and lifts up a bloody bag with at least two dead cats inside.

“The shooter was known for hurting cats,” David Trevino Jr., who is related to the shooter’s grandmother by marriage, told the New York Post.

“He liked hurting animals... I’m told he killed the cats and carried around the bag of bodies for s---- and giggles."

For more on this story: New video shows Texas school shooter Salvador Ramos holding bag of dead cats

Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., said he discussed potential gun control legislation with both Republican and Democratic colleagues on Monday, noting that the Senate's deadline to find a compromise is this week.

"I just did two Memorial Day parades and at both events I was swamped by parents (Republicans and Democrats) pleading with me to get something - anything - done to stop these mass shootings," Sen. Murphy said.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., directed fellow Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, to engage with Democrats in the discussions.

President Biden said Monday that it's up to Congress to come to a compromise on gun control.

“McConnell is a rational Republican. Cornyn is as well,” Biden told reporters. “I think there’s a recognition on their part that they — we can’t continue like this. We can’t do this.”

Uvalde School Police Chief Pete Arredondo, third from left, stands during a news conference outside of the Robb Elementary school in Uvalde, Texas Thursday, May 26, 2022. (AP Photo/Dario Lopez-Mills)

Pete Arredondo, the Uvalde school district police chief who authorities say made the "wrong decision" not to immediately confront the elementary school shooter last week, was scheduled to be sworn in as a city council member on Tuesday, but that meeting has been delayed as the city mourns the victims of the tragedy, Mayor Dan McLaughlin said.

"Our focus on Tuesday is on our families who lost loved ones. We begin burying our children tomorrow, the innocent victims of last week’s murders at Robb Elementary School. The special City Council meeting will not take place as scheduled," McLaughlin said in a statement

"There is nothing in the City Charter, Election Code, or Texas Constitution that prohibits him from taking the oath of office. To our knowledge, we are currently not aware of any investigation of Mr. Arredondo." 

For more on this story: Uvalde school police chief's swearing-in ceremony for city council delayed following shooting

Victims of the tragic mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas, have been identified. (Courtesy of the family / Manny Renfro via AP / Courtesy of Mireles Family and Lydia Martinez Delgado / Local News X / TMX)

A custom casket maker in Texas is helping the victims and their families in the aftermath of Tuesday’s mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas.

Trey Ganem, 50, of SoulShine Industries in Edna, has reached out to and has personally met with many of the families of the deceased and has agreed to construct personalized caskets for them, Fox 26 of Houston reported.

"This casket is for an adult, for a very beautiful person, who tried to protect children," Ganem told the outlet, per the report. "I sat with the family. I was drawn to this casket, especially after hearing the stories."

"To listen to them talk about their loved one, it helps me incorporate the design for these caskets. When people talk about what they loved, they start smiling. Even though it’s this horrible time, they’re remembering the joy and the love their loved ones had."

For more on the story: Casket maker met with victims' families to make personalized caskets

President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden visit a memorial at Robb Elementary School to pay their respects to the victims of the mass shooting, Sunday, May 29, 2022, in Uvalde, Texas. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

President Biden suggested to a local lawmaker on Sunday that the federal government may provide funds to raze Robb Elementary School, where 21 people were shot and killed on Tuesday.

"He said, 'I'm not going away. I'm going to bring you resources. We're going to look to raze that school, build a new one,'" state Sen. Roland Gutierrez, who represents Uvalde, told local news outlet KSAT. 

"I can't tell you how many little children that I've talked to that don't want to go into that building. They're just traumatized. They're just destroyed," Gutierrez added.

Click here for more on the story:  President Biden suggests razing Texas elementary school where 21 people were killed, state senator says

The grandmother of Texas school shooting suspect Salvador Ramos was upgraded to "fair condition" on Sunday, hospital officials in San Antonio said.

The 66-year-old woman had been in serious condition all week after her grandson allegedly shot her in the face before going on a rampage at an elementary school less than a mile from her home.

Her husband, Rolando Reyes, told Fox News Digital earlier in the week that she was awake but couldn't speak after undergoing surgery on Wednesday.

Click here for more on the story: Texas school shooting suspect's grandmother upgraded to 'fair condition'

The Bidens arrived back in San Antonio on Sunday evening after spending the day in Uvalde with survivors and family members of the victims of the elementary school shooting earlier this week that left 19 children and two teachers dead.

The president and first lady visited a memorial outside Robb Elementary School and laid a bouquet of flowers near 21 white crosses, representing the lives that were lost.

After seeing the memorial, the Bidens attended Mass at Sacred Heart Catholic Church then met with victims’ families and first responders.

It’s the second community that the president has visited following a mass shooting this month, as Biden traveled to Buffalo on May 17 after a gunman shot and killed 10 people at a grocery store.

“Evil came to that elementary school classroom in Texas, to that grocery store in New York, to far too many places where innocents have died,” Biden said said in a commencement speech at the University of Delaware on Saturday.

“We cannot outlaw tragedy, I know, but we can make America safer. We can finally do what we have to protect the lives of the people and of our children."

A police officer visits a makeshift memorial outside the Uvalde County Courthouse in Uvalde, Texas on May 27, 2022. (Photo by CHANDAN KHANNA/AFP via Getty Images)

Rep. Dan Crenshaw, R-Texas, on Sunday called for accountability for the police department that responded to last week’s mass school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, saying it's clear that "protocols were not followed" after the revelation that officers waited outside the classroom containing the gunman and children for more than an hour until Border Patrol agents breached the door and killed him.

During an appearance on CNN’s "State of the Union," Crenshaw said "it's hard not to see how someone doesn't get fired" for the slow response to Robb Elementary School on Tuesday, when 19 children and two teachers were fatally shot by 18-year-old Salvador Rolando Ramos.

"I know better than most not to necessarily judge the person who’s walking through the breach and is in that moment in the arena, but it does seem clear that protocols were not followed," he said.

Click here for more on this story: Crenshaw calls for ‘accountability’ in Uvalde police response: ‘Protocols were not followed’

(Photo by CHANDAN KHANNA/AFP via Getty Images)

President Biden embraces Mandy Gutierrez, the principal of Robb Elementary School, as he and first lady Jill Biden pay their respects in Uvalde, Texas.

US President Joe Biden gestures at people gathered outside after attending Mass at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Uvalde, Texas on May 29, 2022. (Photo by MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images)

President Biden left the Sacred Heart Catholic Church with a message for Uvalde residents.

After attending mass with first lady Jill Biden, Biden walked over to a crowd of people gathered outside the church who were chanting, “do something.”

“I will,” the president responded, giving a thumbs up.

The Bidens had attended a service by Archbishop Gustavo Garcia-Siller, who invited all the children in attendance to sit up toward the front of the church.

“They passed away. But you are alive,” the archbishop said.

The U.S. Department of Justice announced Sunday that it will conduct a Critical Incident Review of the law enforcement response to the mass shooting in Uvalde at the request of Uvalde Mayor Don McLaughlin.

“The goal of the review is to provide an independent account of law enforcement actions and responses that day, and to identify lessons learned and best practices to help first responders prepare for and respond to active shooter events," spokesman Anthony Coley said in a statement.

"The review will be conducted with the Department’s Office of Community Oriented Policing,” Coley continued. “As with prior Justice Department after-action reviews of mass shootings and other critical incidents, this assessment will be fair, transparent, and independent. The Justice Department will publish a report with its findings at the conclusion of its review.”

For more on this story: DOJ to investigate police response to Uvalde shooting

President Biden and first lady Jill Biden arrived Sunday afternoon in Uvalde, Texas, where they visited a memorial for the victims of the Robb Elementary School shooting before attending mass at the Sacred Heart Catholic Church. The Bidens are then scheduled to meet with the families of victims and survivors of the shooting at the Uvalde County Event Center.

Director and Colonel of the Texas Department of Public Safety Steven C. McCraw listens during a press conference outside Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, on May 27, 2022. (Photo by CHANDAN KHANNA / AFP) (Photo by CHANDAN KHANNA/AFP via Getty Images)

Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) defended police officers and law enforcement agencies after it was revealed they waited over an hour outside Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas during Tuesday’s mass shooting.

Cornyn said blaming the first responders after the complex incident is "distracting and unfair."

"The second-guessing and finger-pointing among state and local law enforcement is destructive, distracting, and unfair," he said Saturday.

Officers are being criticized amid reports they waited outside the school for more than 70 minutes as suspected gunman Salvador Ramos continued his rampage, ultimately killing 19 students and two teachers.

Click here for more on the story: Blaming police for waiting is ‘destructive, distracting, and unfair,’ Sen. Cornyn says

US Vice President Kamala Harris speaks to members of the media at Buffalo Niagara International Airport in Cheektowaga, New York, US, on Saturday, May 28, 2022. Photographer: Malik Rainey/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Vice President Kamala Harris called for a ban on "assault weapons" on Saturday after she spoke at the funeral of a woman killed in the Buffalo, New York grocery store mass shooting earlier this month. 

She called the firearm a "weapon of war" that has "no place in civil society."

"We are not sitting around waiting to figure out what the solution looks like. You know, we're not looking for a vaccine. We know what works on this," she told reporters outside of Air Force Two at the Buffalo Niagara International Airport, referring to the series of mass shootings that have plagued the U.S. "Let's have an assault weapons ban."

For more on the story: Kamala Harris calls for 'assault weapons ban' in wake of Uvalde, Buffalo mass shootings

The likelihood of a copycat attack following the Uvalde school shooting remains high for the next two weeks, but officials and media can do more to try and limit that possibility, a former law enforcement official told Fox News Digital. 

"Studies have shown that, generally, the copycat phenomenon lasts for … maybe two weeks," retired FBI special agent in charge Michael Tabman explained. "That is when we're most at risk of a copycat, and there are many factors that go into why so many copycats, but the risk is there."

A number of similar gun scares have already occurred across Texas, with several South Texas districts labeling the incidents as "copycat" threats: Local news outlet 3 News reported on three such threats of violence against schools, each of which officials and law enforcement handled. 

For more on the story, click here: Copycat threat remains high 2 weeks after attack, but here's how we can limit that chance

Chicago White Sox manager Tony La Russa said Saturday that he does not agree with the decision of San Francisco Giants manager Gabe Kapler to protest the national anthem in the wake of a school shooting in Texas that left 21 victims dead.

"I think he’s exactly right to be concerned…with what’s happening in our country," La Russa said Saturday evening, ESPN reported. "He’s right there. Where I disagree is the flag and the anthem are not appropriate places to try to voice your objections."

The White Sox manager also said protesting the national anthem is an insult to the men and women who served and died in the U.S. military.

See more on the story by clicking here: White Sox's Tony La Russa calls Giants' Gabe Kapler's national anthem protest 'not appropriate'

The host of "Unfiltered With Dan Bongino" said America has formed a "godless society" that is contributing to "glorified violence," such as the tragic shooting in Uvalde, Texas, where 21 victims were killed on Tuesday.

"Our culture is rotting," Bongino monologued. "We’ve got an increasingly godless society and a plague of broken homes, an entertainment is saturated with glorified violence, throw this in the witch's brew with misery and uncertainty of the last few years with children isolated and pulled away from their friends and their communities while being told what to think and what to do."

During the latest episode of MSNBC’s The Cross Connection with Tiffany Cross on Saturday, leftist police reform activist Brittany Packnett Cunningham claimed the recent Texas school shooting is further proof that America must abolish the police. 

Cunningham told Cross she believed that law enforcement’s mistakes during the Uvalde, Texas school shooting – namely, reports that officers waited outside the classroom as the shooter committed his massacre – means policing as it currently stands needs to be gutted.

"I think, sadly, Uvalde is a terrible and tragic example of just how – not incompetent – but problematic the entire institution is," Cunningham said.

"Uvalde provides 40% of their municipal budget to policing and I’m very sure that being tackled and handcuffed while you are trying to go in and rescue your own children is not what the residents of that town pay for," she claimed, referencing Uvalde parents who were arrested while attempting to go inside the school and save their children on Tuesday.

"It’s certainly not what taxpayers across the country think they are paying for," the activist added.

See more on the story by clicking here: Uvalde police response proves need to abolish the police, says MSNBC guest

Former police officer and City of Chicago Alderman Anthony Napolitano says a lack of parental involvement can result in 'catastrophic' events, like the Uvalde school shooting tragedy.

POLITICS

NRA members sound off on organization's future, calls for gun control amid Uvalde shooting

NRA members who spoke with Fox News Digital said its time to beef up school security measures, not take away gun rights, as calls from the left to enact stricter gun control emanate following the tragedy in Uvalde, Texas

HOUSTON, Texas - The 2022 National Rifle Association convention kicked off on Friday in Texas and some members of the gun advocacy group who attended the event expressed their opposition to calls for gun control while discussing ways to move forward.

The annual convention came on the heels of the Robb Elementary School shooting in Uvalde, Texas, on Tuesday which left 19 children and two adults dead.

The convention, held at the George R. Brown Convention Center amid nearby protests from gun-control advocates, hosted thousands of individuals who displayed fierce support for the preservation of the Second Amendment and gun rights.

Click here to continue reading on FoxNews.com

Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, details what he’s heard on the ground in Uvalde, speaking with residents, parents, counselors and officers wounded in the Robb Elementary School shooting.

Fox News contributor and former D.C. homicide detective Ted Williams argues police should have neutralized the Uvalde school shooter sooner.

Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, told "Fox News Live" Saturday that while on the ground in Uvalde, he spoke to a wounded officer who told him police response units were "scrambling" to find a tool to open the school door to get to the gunman on Tuesday.

He learned that the locked steel door only opened outward, "not inward," making it more difficult to break down.

The Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District Police Department hosted an "active shooter scenario training" in March, just two months before the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School on Tuesday that left 19 children and two adults dead."

Active Shooter for School-Based Law Enforcement" was the training hosted by the school district's police department on March 21, with "Peace Officers, School Resource Officers, and campus security officers" encouraged to attend.

Read more here.

Police responding to Tuesday's school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, waited before killing the assailant, believing he was barricaded in a classroom. (AP Graphic)

Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District Chief of Police Pete Arredondo completed active shooter training in December 2021, state records obtained by NBC News show.

He also completed active shooting training in 2020, according to the outlet.

Arredondo, the commander on-scene at Robb Elementary on Tuesday, made a decision to transition law enforcement's response away from an active shooter situation and toward a barricaded subject incident, Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steven McCraw said Friday.

While officers initially responded to the shooting, "there was a barrage – hundreds of rounds were pumped" into classrooms for four minutes," McCraw said.

"Any firing afterwards was sporadic and it was at the door," he continued. “So the belief is that there may not be anybody living anymore and that the subject is now trying to keep law enforcement at bay or enticing them to come in and suicide [by cop]."

Fox News' Greg Norman contributed to this report.

Reacting to new details emerging on law enforcement's initial response to the Uvalde school shooting tragedy, Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick told "Fox & Friends Weekend" on Saturday that state officials "were not told the truth" over the amount of time it took to subdue the shooter.

A video on Twitter shows Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, being heckled in a restaurant after delivering remarks at the NRA convention in Houston on Friday following a mass school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, on Tuesday.

"Why did you come here to the convention? ... Why? When 19 children died? Nineteen children died. That's on your hands. That's on your hands," the heckler can be heard saying in the video.

Cruz waves as the heckler is escorted away before sitting down at a table with several other people.

Tuesday's shooting, which left 19 children and two teachers dead, sparked feelings of anger, grief and confusion across the country, as well as continued conversations about the possibility of implementing stricter gun laws, specifically in Texas.

Read more here.

School safety experts told Fox News Digital that school shooting prevention protocols have changed dramatically since the Columbine High School attack in 1999, but the recent shooting in Uvalde, Texas, shows that more can still be done.

"Columbine changed the landscape of law enforcement’s tactical response to active shooters," Ken Trump, president of security consulting firm National School Safety and Security Services, told Fox News Digital about the Colorado shooting that left 12 students and one teacher dead while sending shockwaves through the United States.

Read more here.

A tweet that was allegedly posted by Republican Rep. Randy Fine, calling elementary school children a “small sacrifice” for the Second Amendment, is fake.

The controversial tweet was posted by a parody account the day after a mass shooting Uvalde, Texas left 19 children and two teachers dead.

Many users online criticized the fake tweet, assuming it to be posted by the real lawmaker.

The fake tweet also read: “Public schools aren’t in the Constitution.”

It was posted by parody account @VoteRandyFineFL on May 25.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

A woman reacts as she pays her respects at a memorial site for the victims killed in this week's elementary school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, Thursday, May 26, 2022. (AP Photo/Dario Lopez-Mills)

Students trapped inside classrooms at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas repeatedly called 911 from their cell phones, seeking immediate help as a gunman continued his mass shooting spree in their building.

“Please send the police now,” one caller said as officers waited more than an hour outside the school, authorities said Friday.

Steven McCraw, the head of the Texas Department of Public Safety, said later officers were instructed not enter the building as their commander did not believe the students were in any further danger. Nearly 20 officers remained outside of the school.

It was later learned 18-year-old gunman Salvador Ramos barricaded himself in classroom, before shooting the teachers and students inside.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Salvador Ramos, 18, was known as the "Yubo school shooter" on social media and made other threats online before he allegedly killed 19 children and two teachers at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, according to a report.

Social media messages that surfaced following Tuesday's tragic shooting showed Ramos had a verified account on the Yubo messaging app, where he harassed other users and made several comments about rape, Sky News reported.

An unidentified 17-year-old on the platform told the outlet that Ramos would "just harass people... and would threaten rape and kidnapping and murder," according to the report.

Ramos may have also taken pride in the "school shooter" nickname as he did not correct people for using it, the user said.

"He never tried to shut down that nickname, he seemed almost proud of it, you know," she added, per the report.

Click here to read more: Suspected gunman made threats, called 'Yubo school shooter' on platform, users said

Police walk near Robb Elementary School following a mass shooting on Tuesday in Uvalde, Texas. (AP Photo/Dario Lopez-Mills)

The suspected gunman in the Uvalde, Texas school shooting emerged from a classroom closet firing at Border Patrol tactical agents entering the room, a U.S. Customs and Border Protection official said Friday, The Washington Post reported.

Using a ballistic shield, the agents entered the Robb Elementary School classroom and shot and killed the shooter.

Authorities waited outside the room for roughly 45 minutes while parents outside and children inside pleaded for help, authorities said Friday. Responding law enforcement agencies have been heavily criticized for its slow response to the massacre that took the lives of 19 children and two teachers. 

Matthew McConaughey traveled to Uvalde, Texas where the actor paid his respects to the victims of the Robb Elementary School shooting.

The "Greenlights" author, 52, was born in the Texas town where his mother was a teacher at a school a mile away from the tragic scene where Salvador Ramos, 18, allegedly killed 19 children and two teachers before he was shot and killed by a Border Patrol agent.

For more on this story:  Matthew McConaughey visits Uvalde, Texas hometown to pay respects for school shooting victims

Sen. Ted Cruz Friday called for significantly increased security in schools, including single entrances, armed guards, and more, as he railed against Democrats for pushing gun control after the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas.

Cruz, R-Texas, also lamented the "evil" behind the shooting that killed 21 in Robb Elementary School Tuesday as he spoke during an address at the annual National Rifle Association conference in Houston. He further called for increased law enforcement efforts to prosecute people who buy guns illegally. 

For more on this story: Texas school shooting: At NRA, Cruz urges 'single point of entry' in schools

A weapon lies beside the vehicle used by 18-year-old Salvador Ramos, who crashed in a ditch near Robb Elementary School where he killed 19 children and two adults in a mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas, authorities said. (Pete Luna/Uvalde Leader-News/Handout via REUTERS)

Officials disclosed more details surrounding the timeline of the mass shooting at a Uvalde, Texas elementary school earlier this week.

He first crashed a pickup truck in a ditch before making his way to Robb Elementary School and opening fire, authorities said Friday. 

Children run to safety after escaping from a window during a mass shooting at Robb Elementary School where a gunman killed nineteen children and two adults in Uvalde, Texas. (Pete Luna/Uvalde Leader-News/Handout via REUTERS)

Children at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas ran for safety as a gunman unleashed a hail of gunfire, killing 19 students and two teachers inside on Tuesday, according to media images.

Law enforcement officials have been criticized for the police response after it emerged the shooter was in the school for up to an hour before he was confronted and killed.

UVALDE, Texas – A city resident who arrived outside Robb Elementary School while law enforcement was responding to Tuesday's shooting expressed frustration after learning police did not immediately enter the classroom.

"If you assume that you have a barricaded subject—you cannot assume that," Uvalde resident Laura de la Cruz told Fox News while holding back tears. "You know it's a school, you know children are in there, you know the time, you know kids are in those classrooms."

For more on this story: Uvalde, Texas, residents respond to revelation police waited to engage mass shooter

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott speaks during a news conference in Uvalde, Texas on Wednesday. (AP Photo/Dario Lopez-Mills)

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Friday said he was “misled” by authorities and “livid” about the events surrounding the Uvalde school shooting following discrepancies in the timeline surrounding the tragedy. 

"I was misled," he said during a news conference, saying he had received "'inaccurate" information. "I am livid by what happened. I was on this very stage two days ago and I was telling the public information that had been told to me."

"I wrote down handnotes in detail about what everybody in that room told me in sequential order about what happened," he added. "As everybody has learned, the information that I was given turned out, in part, to be inaccurate. I'm absolutely livid about that."

The police response to the shooting that killed 19 children and two teachers have come under public scrutiny following contradicting reports from law enforcement and revelations that authorities did not engage the suspected gunman sooner.

Abbott demanded that law enforcement officials "get to the bottom of every fact with absolute certainty."

An anonymous donation of $175,000 has been made to assist the families of Uvalde impacted by the school shooting, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said Friday. 

Abbott said the donation was made to ensure that "every cost of every family concerning anything about the funeral services is going to be taken care of."

The governor also announced the establishment of a "One Star Foundation" fund to assist with the "ongoing challenges" victims will be faced with.

Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steven McCraw said Friday that when officers were responding to Robb Elementary School, “there was a barrage – hundreds of rounds were pumped in, in four minutes,” into two classrooms inside the school. 

“Any firing afterwards was sporadic and it was at the door,” McCraw continued. “So the belief is that there may not be anybody living anymore and that the subject is now trying to keep law enforcement at bay or enticing them to come in and suicide [by cop].” 

McCraw made the remark after saying the incident commander on-scene, Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District Chief of Police Pete Arredondo, made a decision to transition the law enforcement response to the event toward a barricaded subject situation, and away from an active shooter one. 

McCraw later called it the “wrong decision, period.” 

Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steven McCraw said Friday that the on-scene commander Tuesday “was convinced at the time that there was no more threat to the children” and that responding officers "had time to organize with the proper equipment” to go into the classroom where Salvador Ramos was barricaded. 

He made the remark while answering questions as to why police did not engage Ramos sooner than they did. 

“Texas embraces and teaches the active shooter doctrine,” McCraw later said. “As long as there’s kids, as long as there's somebody firing, you go to the gun, you find them, you neutralize them, period.  

"There are some nuances with transitioning to a barricaded subject and also transitioning to a hostage situation,” McCraw also said. “And, of course, that the decision at the scene was that this is still a barricaded subject, it did not go back to an active shooter.” 

A map of Salvador Ramos' movements inside Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. (Fox News Digital/Paul Best)

Texas authorities released a map Friday showing gunman Salvador Ramos’ path of entry after arriving at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, on Tuesday, where he killed 19 children and two teachers. 

The tactical team that killed Uvalde school shooter Salvador Ramos reportedly arrived at the school earlier than was previously known and was delayed in entering the building Ramos was barricaded inside. 

Two officials briefed on the situation told the New York Times that specialized Border Patrol agents arrived at Robb Elementary School between 12 p.m. and 12:10 p.m. which is roughly 30 minutes earlier than previously thought. 

Additionally, the officials say that the Uvalde Police Department held the Border Patrol agents back from going inside.

For more on this story: Tactical team prevented from entering school earlier by local Uvalde police: report

A Texas woman whose brother is a Uvalde police officer said cops did not retreat from Robb Elementary School as a gunman attacked a fourth-grade classroom.

Patricia Chapa, whose sister is a teacher at the school, joined "America's Newsroom" Friday to share what she has learned from her siblings about the attack and police response.

"They did not retreat until the shooter was down. They were in there the entire time. People don't understand, people think nobody was inside during that time. They were inside, they just couldn’t get to the shooter. The shooter would come out and shoot at them. There was no way for them to just go in there and shoot," said Chapa.

For more on this story: Sister of Uvalde police officer says cops 'did not retreat'

Law enforcement officials in Uvalde, Texas are facing increased scrutiny over their response to a shooting that left 19 children and two faculty members dead as questions continue to rise regarding how quickly police responded to the crime and neutralized the suspect.

For more on this story: Police face questions over timeline of events surrounding Uvalde school shooting

Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steven McCraw, when fielding questions from reporters about the police response to the Robb Elementary School shooting, said Friday that "if I thought it would help, I would apologize."

Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steven McCraw revealed Friday that the chief of police of the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District was the on-scene commander at the time of the Robb Elementary School shooting on Tuesday. 

Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steven McCraw said Friday that an officer responding to a report of a man with a gun at Robb Elementary drove past shooter Salvador Ramos prior to the 18-year-old unleashing his rampage. 

“[He] sped to what he thought was the man with the gun – to the back of the school – to what turned out to be a teacher and not the suspect,” McCraw said. “In doing so he drove right by the suspect who was hunkered down behind a vehicle where he began shooting at the school.” 

Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steven McCraw speaks during a press conference held outside Robb Elementary School on Friday, May 27. (AP/Wong Maye-E)

Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steven McCraw said Friday, when asked why police at Robb Elementary School didn’t engage the shooter immediately, said “the on-scene commander at the time believed that it had transitioned from an active shooter to a barricaded subject.” 

“A decision was made on the scene – I wasn’t there -- that this was a barricaded subject situation, there was time to retrieve the keys and wait for a tactical team with the equipment to go ahead and breach the door and take on the subject,” he continued. “At that point, that was the decision, that was the thought process.” 

McCraw later said “from the benefit of hindsight from where I am sitting now, that of course it was not the right decision, it was a wrong decision, period, there was no excuse for that.” 

“I wasn’t there but I’m just telling you from what we know, that we believe there should have been an entry as soon as you can,” he added. 

"Obviously, based upon the information we have, there were children in that classroom that were at risk," McCraw also said.

Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steven McCraw said Friday that the officers who responded to the Robb Elementary School shooting on Tuesday breached the door of the classroom where gunman Salvador Ramos was hiding in after obtaining a key from a janitor on the property.

Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steven McCraw said Friday that Robb Elementary School shooter Salvador Ramos fired off “at least” 100 rounds on Tuesday, based on audio evidence. 

McCraw said the door in which Ramos entered the school had been propped open by a teacher there prior to him crashing a vehicle near the building. 

People walk past signage in the hallways outside of the exhibit halls at the NRA Annual Meeting held at the George R. Brown Convention Center on Thursday, May 26, in Houston, Texas. (AP/Michael Wyke)

Texas Lt. Gov Dan Patrick announced Friday that he canceled his scheduled appearance at the National Rifle Association’s annual meeting in Houston in order to "focus on the families" affected by the Uvalde school shooting. 

The decision comes after Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said he would not appear in person at the event, instead opting to deliver a video message instead. 

"After prayerful consideration and discussion with NRA officials, I have decided not to speak at the NRA breakfast this morning," Patrick said in a statement. 

For more on this story: Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick to skip NRA Houston convention

Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, on Friday, May 27. (Fox News Digital/Paul Best)

Officials in Texas will give an update at 12 p.m. ET on the Robb Elementary School shooting investigation.

A state trooper walks past the Robb Elementary School sign in Uvalde, Texas, Tuesday, May 24, 2022, following a deadly shooting at the school. (William Luther/The San Antonio Express-News via AP)

More details are emerging Friday surrounding the timeline of the mass shooting at a Texas elementary school Tuesday that left at least 19 children and two teachers dead.

The suspected gunman has been identified by authorities as 18-year-old Uvalde, Texas, resident Salvador Ramos. 

For more on this story: Timeline of massacre that left at least 19 children, 2 teachers dead

A 10-year-old girl who was injured Tuesday in the Uvalde school shooting has been discharged Friday, according to University Hospital in San Antonio. 

The hospital says it is still treating a 10-year-old girl in serious condition and a 9-year-old girl in good condition, as well as the 66-year-old grandmother of shooter Salvador Ramos, who officials say is in serious condition.  

The alleged threats were directed at Bellport High School in New York's Long Island, police say. (Google Maps)

Police in Suffolk County, New York , announced Friday that a 16-year-old has been arrested “after he made threats on social media about committing a mass shooting” at Bellport High School in Brookhaven. 

“A 16 year old posted on his Instagram story threatening to commit a mass shooting in Bellport on May 26,” police said in a statement. “Multiple people called 911. Fifth Squad detectives, along with the assistance of Computer Crimes detectives and Fifth Precinct Crime Section officers arrested the teen at his home in Bellport at 7:45 p.m.” 

Police say they did not find weapons at his house but the teen was charged with Making a Terroristic Threat and Aggravated Harassment. 

He is set to be arraigned in local district court Friday. 

Flowers are placed around a welcome sign outside Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, on Wednesday, May 25. (AP/Jae C. Hong)

The United States Marshals Service has released a statement Friday describing their response to the Robb Elementary School shooting earlier this week.

"At 12:10pm, the first group of Deputy U.S. Marshals from Del Rio arrived from nearly 70 miles away to assist federal, state, and local law enforcement already on scene," it said.

The statement added that those Marshals then entered the school to assist a Border Patrol tactical response unit "and other law enforcement already engaging with the shooter. 

"These Deputy U.S. Marshals also rendered emergency trauma first aid for multiple victims," the U.S. Marshals statement said.

It continued by saying that "additional Deputy U.S. Marshals were asked to expand and secure the official law enforcement perimeter around the school" and that "Deputy marshals never arrested or placed anyone in handcuffs while securing the crime scene perimeter."

"Our deputy marshals maintained order and peace in the midst of the grief-stricken community that was gathering around the school," the statement concluded. "Our hearts are heavy with sorrow and sadness at this horrific crime. We send our condolences to all the victims and families affected by this tragedy."

Republican Gov. Greg Abbott addresses the Uvalde school shooting. (AP Photo/Dario Lopez-Mills)

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has abandoned his plans to attend the National Rifle Association's annual meeting this weekend and will instead appear via video and spend time in Uvalde, Texas following a school shooting there that left 21 dead.

"Gov. Abbott will be delivering remarks via pre-recorded video to the NRA Conference," Abbott campaign Spokesman Mark Miner said in a statement on Friday. "He will be going to Uvalde today."

Abbott had been scheduled to attend the convention in Houston where several prominent Republicans including Sen. Ted Cruz  and former President Donald Trump are scheduled to speak.

Several high profile figures including singers Larry Gatlin and Don McLean have canceled their appearances at the NRA conference .

For more on this story: Texas Gov. Abbott won't appear at NRA convention, will visit Uvalde instead

Parents enter a school in Kiryat Ono, Israel (Eitan Elhadz/TPS)

JERUSALEM, Israel – Shooting attacks on schools in Israel are rare and the Jewish state’s preventive security measures could be a helpful starting point for improved school security in the U.S. 

There have been six terrorist attacks on Israeli schools since 1974. That low figure can be explained by the multiple layers of security Israel employs and the engagement of civil society in aiding the nation's law enforcement.

David Hazony, a writer, and commentator on Israeli and American affairs and a father to eleven children, told Fox News Digital that the country "puts effort into identifying potential assailants through behavioral profiling."

Israel could not prevent attacks if its efforts were based solely on armed security guards at each school, he said. Israel "invests heavily in monitoring profiles of people," Hazony continued.

For more on this story: Could Israeli school security methods serve as model for US schools?

Samuel Salinas, another 10-year-old Robb Elementary School mass shooting survivor, says gunman Salvador Ramos shot his teacher and fellow classmates after declaring “you’re all going to die.” 

“I think he was aiming at me... I guess like one of the chairs were there so it blocked it,” Salinas told ABC News.  

He said at one point during the incident, a classmate went to turn off a phone that started ringing inside a desk. 

Gemma Lopez, a 10-year-old survivor of the Robb Elementary School shooting in Uvalde, Texas, says she heard gunman Salvador Ramos say “leave me alone please” to law enforcement who were responding to the massacre. 

In an interview with ABC News, Lopez said she noticed something was wrong Tuesday when “the bullet came through the wall.” 

She says she then “turned off the lights” in her classroom – something she learned during lockdown drills, which she has practiced since around kindergarten. 

“I heard the officers yelling at the shooter...to put the firearm down,” Lopez added, “and then the shooter said ‘leave me alone please’ and then he started shooting.” 

An off-duty US Customs and Border Patrol agent saved dozens of children trapped inside Robb Elementary Tuesday after his wife, a fourth-grade teacher at the school, texted him that there was an active shooter, according to a report."

Help," she wrote, "I love you." Jacob Albarado was getting a haircut at the time. He borrowed a shotgun from his barber, who came with him, and headed to where his wife and his second-grade daughter were hiding in the school.

His daughter, 8, was locked in a bathroom and his wife was underneath a desk with her students in their classroom. 

While a CBP elite tactical team was planning to take out the shooter, Albarado coordinated with other officers to get as many children out as possible. He started in the area where his wife had said their daughter was hiding, rescuing other children and teachers along the way.

For more on this story: Uvalde, Texas school shooting: Off-duty CBP agent saves students, daughter after 'help' text from teacher wife

Daily Caller field reporter Jorge Ventura and retired police Lt. Randy Sutton join 'Fox News at Night' to discuss the latest developments in the Texas school shooting.

Daily Caller field reporter Jorge Ventura and retired police Lt. Randy Sutton join 'Fox News at Night' to discuss the latest developments in the Texas school shooting.

Texas Department of Public Safety spokesman Lt. Chris Olivarez joins 'Fox News at Night' to piece together a timeline of events, after a press conference Thursday appeared to contradict previous statements made by officials.

Beto O'Rourke speaks to reporters after being kicked out of Gov. Greg Abbott press conference. (AP) photo

Texas gubernatorial candidate Beto O'Rourke announced Thursday he will attend a rally "against gun violence" outside of the NRA's convention in Houston on Friday.

Black Lives Matter Houston and March for Our Lives, an organization started by the Parkland shooting survivors, are among the groups joining him at the rally.

"Action is the antidote to despair," O'Rourke tweeted while inviting people to the demonstration that says it seeks to hold the "NRA and the politicians they purchase accountable."

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who O'Rourke is running against, canceled attending the convention in person and will be in Uvalde on Friday. He made pre-taped remarks to be shown at the convention.

O'Rourke disrupted an Abbott press conference on Wednesday in which the governor was giving updates on the shooting.

He told the governor shootings in the state are "on you until you choose to do something different." He was escorted from the event and heavily criticized by Republican officials.

Uvalde Mayor Don McLaughlin, who was sitting by Abbott at the time, called O'Rourke a "sick son of a b----" as the Democrat walked out.

For more on this story: Texas school shooting: Beto O'Rourke to protest outside of Houston NRA convention

Adriana Reyes, the mother of Texas school shooting suspect Salvador Ramos, was praying on the front porch of her parents' Uvalde home on Thursday evening, the same home where her son allegedly shot his grandmother on Tuesday before going on a murderous rampage at an elementary school less than a mile away. 

Reyes appeared emotional, rocking back and forth as she murmured prayers and held what looked like a rosary in her hands. Earlier in the day on Thursday, Reyes's father, Rolando, told Fox News Digital that his daughter is "feeling bad for everybody," but added, "She lost her son, too." 

Reyes declined to answer questions on Thursday evening, telling Fox News Digital, "I am praying."

For more on this story: Texas school shooting suspect's mother seen praying on front porch of her parents' home

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott speaks during a news conference in Uvalde, Texas Wednesday, May 25, 2022. The 18-year-old gunman who slaughtered 19 children and two teachers at a Texas elementary school barricaded himself inside a single classroom and "began shooting anyone that was in his way," authorites said Wednesday in detailing the latest mass killing to rock the U.S. (AP Photo/Dario Lopez-Mills)

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott plans to skip going to the NRA convention in Houston in person on Friday in favor of returning to Uvalde three days after 19 children and two teachers were killed in a shooting, according to reports.

He will hold a press conference in the town on resources available to those affected by the shooting.

However, before he heads back to Uvalde, the governor will pre-tape remarks to be shown at the convention.

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and former President Donald Trump still plan to attend. Texas Sen. John Cornyn and Rep. Dan Crenshaw both said earlier this week they told the NRA before this week’s shooting they would have to cancel for scheduling conflicts.  

Beto O’Rourke, who is challenging Abbott as a Democrat, had called on the governor earlier this week to cancel his appearance and tell the NRA to hold the event in another state. 

The Texas Department of Public Safety confirmed Thursday that the shooter was "undisrupted" from the time he shot his grandmother to when he crashed his car outside the school and walked in through an unlocked back door.

The department said a report that he was confronted outside of the school by a school police officer is untrue.

"It was reported that a school district police officer confronted the suspect who was making entry, not accurate. He walked in undisrupted initially. So from the grandmother's house to the party to the school into the school, he was not confronted by anybody," Escalon said. "Right now it appears [the door] was unlocked."

For more on this story: Uvalde, Texas shooter entered school undisrupted through unlocked door, DPS official says

Lee Greenwood and Larry Gatlin have pulled out of performances at this weekend NRA convention in Houston. (Getty Images)

A day after "American Pie" singer Don McLean pulled out of the annual National Rifle Association convention, Larry Gatlin, Larry Stewart of Restless Heart and Lee Greenwood announced they are following McLean’s lead and won't be performing in Houston.

Gatlin issued a statement that was obtained by Fox News Digital.

"To my fellow sad Americans, I cannot, in good conscience, perform at the NRA convention in Houston this weekend," his statement began. 

For more on this story: Lee Greenwood, Larry Gatlin drop out of NRA convention performance

Active shooter survival instructor Michael Julian reflects on the Texas elementary school shooting on "Jesse Watters Primetime." 

Byron York ripped into the Texas Department of Public Safety on "Special Report" for leaving parents with more questions than answers after their Robb Elementary School shooting press event.

For more on this story: Uvalde shooting: Byron York rips Texas DPS for 'disastrous' news conference

Professional sports organizations are yet again cherry-picking tragedy to apparently promote their own political talking points. 

The Tampa Bay Rays and New York Yankees have partnered to use their home broadcasts for tonight’s contest to spread awareness on gun violence.It's just the latest black square trend that likely won't accomplish anything.

They just keep screaming louder.

For more on this story: Rays, Yankees to use game coverage to spread awareness on 'gun violence'

Harold Ford Jr. reflects on the Texas school shooting on 'The Five.'

A vigil in the center of Uvalde, Texas honoring the 19 students and 2 teachers shot in the deadly mass shooting. (Fox News Digital)

Uvalde residents gathered Thursday at a park to mourn and pay tribute to the 19 children and two teachers who were murdered at Robb Elementary School this week.

The shooting rampage sent shockwaves through the tight-knit town of about 16,000, where almost everyone seems to know a victim of the tragedy.

Mourners laid flowers and wrote on 21 crosses that were placed around a fountain in the middle of town.

A group called Comfort Dogs set up the crosses and attached sharpies to each one, so that residents could write notes to the fallen members of their community.

UVALDE, Texas – The family members of children killed in the Robb Elementary School shooting criticized the school for neglecting security procedures.

"They need to start putting a lot of security, more than what they have right now," said Gilda Lopez, the grandmother of Xavier Lopez, a 10-year-old slain during the Texas shooting. "Look what happened. We lost an angel."

For more on this story: Family of Texas shooting victims criticize school for neglecting security

A view of the street where Miguel Zamora lives in Uvalde, Texas. He told Fox News Digital he heard a vehicle crash Tuesday and thought the driver was an illegal immigrant before later finding out it was Salvador Ramos. (Fox News digital)

UVALDE, Texas - A U.S. Border Patrol mechanic who lives in Uvalde, Texas, was at home on his lunch break Tuesday morning when a black truck sped down his quiet street at 50 to 60 miles per hour.

"At that time, I just thought, ‘It’s an illegal,'" Miguel Zamora told Fox News Digital, noting Uvalde’s close proximity to the southern border. "Here in a couple of seconds, we’ll see border patrol, something like that chasing him, and I never saw anything like that."

For more on this story: Uvalde Border Patrol mechanic heard gunman crash truck, open fire, thought it was illegal immigrant

The White House announced Thursday that President Biden will visit Uvalde, Texas, on Sunday. 

Biden's visit will take place on May 29, almost one week after alleged gunman Salvador Ramos killed 19 students and two teachers at Robb Elementary School.

For more on this story: Biden to visit Uvalde to 'grieve' and demand 'action' on guns, White House says

Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex, leaves flowers at a memorial site, Thursday for the victims killed in this week's elementary school shooting in Uvalde, Texas. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Meghan Markle made a surprise visit to Texas Thursday to pay her respects to the 21 victims killed at an elementary school in Uvalde.

The Duchess of Sussex, who lives in California with her husband Prince Harry and their two children, was spotted placing a bouquet of white roses at a memorial for the victims gunned down Tuesday at Robb Elementary School. 

For more on this story: Meghan Markle visits Uvalde to lay white roses at memorial for Texas school shooting

Texas officials said on Thursday afternoon that the alleged school shooter was inside a Uvalde elementary school for one hour before being taken down by a U.S. Border Patrol tactical team member and is believed to have entered the school unobstructed without confronting a school resource officer, as previous statements suggested.

Victor Escalon, Texas Department of Public Safety regional director for South Texas said Thursday that Salvador Ramos, the alleged school shooter, was inside for one hour before being shot and killed. Ramos allegedly killed 19 students and two teachers during the shooting on Tuesday.

For more on this story: Uvalde, Texas shooter entered school undisrupted through unlocked door, DPS official says

The company that manufactured the rifle used in a school shooting in Texas on Tuesday has canceled its plan to appear at an upcoming National Rifle Association meeting.

"Daniel Defense is not attending the National Rifle Association (‘NRA’) meeting due to the horrifying tragedy in Uvalde, Texas where one of our products was criminally misused," Steve Reed, Vice President of Marketing for Daniel Defense, told Fox News Digital in a statement Thursday. "We believe this week is not the appropriate time to be promoting our products in Texas at the NRA meeting."

For more on this story: Maker of gun used in Uvalde school shooting, Daniel Defense, pulls out of NRA event in Houston

President Joe Biden speaks to the nation about the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, from the White House on Tuesday as first lady Jill Biden listens. The Bidens will visit the city on Sunday, the White House announced Thursday. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

President Biden and First Lady Jill Biden will visit Uvalde, Texas on Sunday following the tragic killing of 19 school children and two teachers, the White House announced Thursday.

"On Sunday, May 29, the President and the First Lady will travel to Uvalde, Texas to grieve with the community that lost twenty-one lives in the horrific elementary school shooting," according to statement from the White House. 

Specifics on the visit and whether Biden will meet with the families of those killed were not disclosed. 

UVALDE, Texas – A Uvalde parent who knew several of the children who died and had two cousins injured in the shooting said he was sad and angry.

"Why? Why? I mean, why our babies?" Mark Madrigal told Fox News. "Those are our children."

Salvador Ramos killed 19 children and two teachers at Robb Elementary School on Tuesday before he was fatally shot by a Border Patrol agent, according to authorities. Law enforcement has faced criticism after news reports indicated that onlookers shouted at police to rush the school during the shooting.

For more on this story: Uvalde, Texas, parent who knew several children killed, injured filled with anger, sadness

Dora Mendoza, grandmother to victim Amerie Jo Garza, wipes tears from her eyes as she pays respects to her granddaughter and others at a memorial site for the victims of the Robb Elementary School shooting in Uvalde, Texas. (Kin Man Hui/The San Antonio Express-News via AP)

An 11-year-old reportedly smeared blood on herself and went into "survival mode" during the Uvalde mass shooting on Tuesday, and her father tells Fox News Digital that the quick-thinking pre-teen is still shaken after having watched her teacher and classmates gunned down.

Miah Cerrillo, 11, survived the shooting but watched her friends and teacher being killed, according to her aunt, Blanca Rivera, who spoke with Click 2 Houston.

For more on this story: Uvalde, Texas student who covered herself in classmates' blood to survive is still shaken, dad says

The families of victims from the Uvalde school shooting could look to sue gun manufacturer Daniel Defense over the use of their weapon in the attack, but Texas law may complicate any attempt to hold the company responsible.

"I can't say, you know, with certainty what the families will decide to do, but there is an option to sue," Jillian Bliss, a Texas attorney with a background in constitutional law and matters of state and federal government, told Fox News Digital. "However, under Texas law, it is a little bit more difficult than the situation with Sandy Hook to sue a gun manufacturer."

For more on this story: Uvalde shooting victim families urged to sue gunmakers, but face challenge under Texas laws 

UVALDE, Texas – The Texas woman whose grandson, Salvador Ramos, shot her in the face and then went on to kill 21 people at a Uvalde elementary school earlier this week is recovering in a hospital but is still unable to speak following surgery on Wednesday, her husband told Fox News Digital.

Rolando Reyes, Ramos' grandfather, said Thursday the suspect's 66-year-old grandmother was awake after surgery the day before, but still could not talk.

For more on this story: Texas school shooter's grandma still hospitalized after surgery, not talking as of Wednesday: Family

The door to the Uvalde elementary school where a gunman killed 19 children and two teachers appears to have been unlocked when he entered, authorities said Thursday.

Minutes earlier, Salvador Ramos crashed a pickup truck into a ditch and fired at two people outside a funeral home, Victor Escalon, the South Texas Regional Director of the Texas Department of Public Safety said during a news conference.

Ramos then went toward Robb Elementary School at 11:40 a.m. and fired "numerous" shots, Escalon said, while providing a timeline of the gunman's movements.

"We will find out as much as we can why it was unlocked, or maybe it (the door) was locked," he said. "But right now, it appears it was unlocked."

The suspect walked into the school and was not confronted by a school resource officer, Escalon said. He said media reports stating otherwise were inaccurate.

Once inside the building, the gunman walked into a hallway and then made his way into a classroom, Escalon said.

"Four minutes later, local police departments, Uvalde Police Department, the Independent School District Police Department are inside, making entry," he said. "They hear gunfire, they take rounds, they move back, get cover. And during that time, they approach where the suspect is at."

The officers called for backup and additional resources while helping children and teachers in nearby classrooms evacuate the building, he said.

A Zavala county deputy and members of the Uvalde Police Department eventually entered the classroom and killed the suspect, Escalon said.

"We're going to find out. With all the different agencies that are involved, we're working every angle that's available. We won't stop until we get all the answers that we possibly can," he added. 

Police walk near Robb Elementary School following a deadly mass shooting that killed 21 people in Uvalde, Texas. (AP Photo/Dario Lopez-Mills)

Uvalde, Texas police Chief Daniel Rodriguez issued a statement Thursday saying his officers responded to a mass shooting at Robb Elementary School “within minutes” along school district officers amid claims that authorities waited to confront the gunman.

“It is important for our community to know that our Officers responded within minutes alongside Uvalde CISD Officers,” Rodriguez said. “Responding UPD Officers sustained gun-shot wounds from the suspect.”

Witnesses said that loved ones and onlookers anxiously waiting outside the school as the gunman was inside shooting teachers and students urged police who were outside to go in and try to stop the shooter.

Some also suggested they take it upon themselves to attempt to overpower the gunman. Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steve McCraw said the gunman could have been in the school for 40 minutes to an hour.

“I understand questions are surfacing regarding the details of what occurred,” Rodriguez said. “I know answer will come fast enough during this trying time, but rest assured that with the completion of the full investigation, I will be able to answer all the questions that we can.”

Law enforcement personnel walk outside Uvalde High School after a deadly mass shooting was reported Tuesday at Robb Elementary School. (William Luther/The San Antonio Express-News via AP)

The graduation ceremony for Uvalde High School has been postposed, officials said Thursday. 

“Out of the deepest respect for the families and our community affected by the tragedy we have experienced, the Uvalde High School Graduation Ceremony has been postponed,” the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District said. “This is a difficult time for everyone. Please keep all families in your prayers.”

The district canceled all remaining classes for the school year following Tuesday’s mass shooting. A new date for the ceremony has not been announced.

A resident of Uvalde, Texas tells Fox News Digital that police officers were on the scene and in the building the "entire time" attempting to subdue alleged school shooter Salvador Ramos as questions arise over how long it took law enforcement to neutralize the shooter.

"I know my brother says they were inside the building the entire time," Patricia Chapa, who says her brother is a police officer in Uvalde, said. "They just never had him at the right angle. He had them in the wrong spot."

Chapa added, "They were in there, they were in the hallway, they just couldn’t get in there fast enough. But, they also couldn’t just rush in there like people think that it was so easy for them just to run in."

Questions have surfaced regarding the timeline of events during Tuesday’s shooting, which left 19 children and 2 faculty members dead, after Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steve McCraw said on Wednesday that the gunman could have been in the school for 40 minutes to an hour before being shot and killed by law enforcement.

For more on this story: Sister of Uvalde officer: Police were inside building 'entire time' trying to get 'right angle' on shooter

Law enforcement began an examination of the police response to the school shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas on Thursday.

Police have faced scrutiny in the wake of the shooting following reports that officers waited up to an hour before breaching the classroom where attacker Salvador Ramos murdered 19 children and two teachers.

The examination will reportedly include a timeline of events based on radio traffic from responding officers, among other factors.

Juan Carranza, 24, a witness and parent of one of the victims, said he and other bystanders urged police to pursue Ramos to no avail. His daughter, Jacklyn Cazares, was killed in the attack.

For more on this story: Law enforcement now 'examining' police response to Uvalde attack

Salvador Ramos' truck is seen crashed in a ditch near Robb Elementary School. (Fox News/Paul Best)

A new video has emerged Thursday showing how close gunman Salvador Ramos crashed his vehicle before heading into Robb Elementary in Uvalde, Texas.

The clip, first posted on TikTok, shows Ramos' truck crashed in a ditch.

It then pans left to reveal Robb Elementary just down the road, surrounded by crime scene tape and first responder vehicles.

Uvalde officials are set to hold a press conference a 2 p.m. ET about the Robb Elementary School shooting.

A vigil is scheduled Friday in Lubbock, Texas, to honor the 19 children and two teachers killed in the Robb Elementary School mass shooting this week.

The event, called "LBK Lights for Uvalde", will be held at Charles A. Guy Park at 8:30 p.m. local time.

Attendees are encouraged to bring flashlights, neon lights and cellphone lights, KCBD reports.

A medical assistant who rushed to Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, on Tuesday after hearing about the shooting encountered a girl covered in blood saying “he shot my best friend” -- only to later learn she was referring to his stepdaughter. 

Angel Garza was among those on-scene as children were fleeing the building, according to the Associated Press. 

“I’m not hurt. He shot my best friend,” one girl reportedly told Garza when he offered help. “She’s not breathing. She was just trying to call the cops.” 

Her friend was Amerie Jo Garza -- Angel Garza's stepdaughter. 

Amerie was described by her family as a happy child who made the honor roll and loved to paint, draw and work in clay.  

“She was very creative,” said her grandmother Dora Mendoza. “She was my baby. Whenever she saw flowers she would draw them.” 

The student had just gotten her first cellphone for her 10th birthday, the Associated Press reports. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

UVALDE, Texas – The grandfather of accused Texas school shooter Salvador Ramos said Thursday his daughter – the suspect’s mother – is "feeling bad for everybody," but added: "She lost her son, too." 

Rolando Reyes spoke briefly with Fox News Digital outside his Uvalde, Texas, home on Thursday morning, just days after Ramos, his 18-year-old grandson, allegedly shot and killed 19 students and two teachers at nearby Robb Elementary School before law enforcement fatally wounded him. 

Prior to the school massacre, Ramos allegedly shot his grandmother in the face and sent Facebook messages that stated, "I’m going to shoot my grandmother," "I’ve shot my grandmother," and then: "I’m going to shoot an elementary school."

For more on this story: Texas school shooting suspect Salvador Ramos' mom 'feeling bad for everybody' but 'lost her son, too': Grandpa

The Donna Independent School District in Donna, Texas, announced Wednesday night that it will be canceling school district-wide on Thursday and Friday after receiving a "credible threat of violence."

No details were immediately released about what type of threat was made, although the district said it is currently under investigation.

"The safety and security of our students and staff is our first priority," the announcement said. "Classes will resume Tuesday morning."

For more on this story: Texas school district closes schools after receiving ‘credible threat of violence’

The father of a Parkland shooting victim after the Uvalde school massacre said threatening students need to be held accountable and criticized failures within the mental health care system.

"Crimes need to be dealt with," Andrew Pollack, who became a school safety advocate after his daughter was killed, told Fox News. "And when they're not dealt with, when these kids get older, they just commit more crime, more felonies."

"If they're not held accountable at a young age, it's just going to get worse," he said. "There's not going to be one gun law that's going to work if you don't arrest criminals for making threats."

For more on this story: Parkland father urges officials to hold threatening students accountable, criticizes mental health system

Crime scene tape surrounds Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, on Wednesday, May 25. (AP/Jae C. Hong)

The gunman who killed 19 students and two teachers in the Uvalde mass shooting told a classroom of children that "it’s time to die," according to a fourth-grader who survived the attack. 

The chilling words allegedly uttered by Salvador Ramos inside Robb Elementary on Tuesday were revealed by a 9-year-old who spoke to KENS 5, describing how he hid under a table during the shooting rampage. 

"He shot the next person’s door. We have a door in the middle. He opened it. He came in and he crouched a little bit and he said, 'It's time to die,'" the student told the station. "When he shot, it was very loud and it hurt my ear." 

For more on this story: Salvador Ramos told classroom ‘it’s time to die,’ survivor says

Tesla and SpaceX Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk speaks at the SATELLITE Conference and Exhibition in Washington, Monday, March 9, 2020.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk commented Thursday morning on gun control measures following Tuesday's Texas elementary school shooting that killed 19 children and two adults.

In a tweet, Musk gave his opinion that assault rifles should, at minimum, require a special permit, where the recipient is "extremely well vetted."

For more on this story: Musk favors some gun control, calls for special assault rifle permits for 'extremely well vetted' people

Jose Flores' Family/via REUTERS

Jose Flores loved baseball, family and going to school, his uncle uncle Christopher Salazar said.

“He was a very happy little boy," Salazar told the Washington Post. "He loved both his parents … and loved to laugh and have fun,” He “loved going to school.”

Just hours before the shooting Tuesday, Flores received an award for making the honor roll.

Makenna Lee Elrod's Family/via REUTERS

Makenna Lee Elrod, 10, was one of the 19 children killed in the shooting.

Her aunt,  Allison McCullough, called her "beautiful, funny, smart and amazing."

“Her smile would light up a room. We will carry her in our hearts and we know she is with our Lord and Savior,” McCullough wrote on a fundraising page for her family.

Her sister tweeted “My baby sister has finally been found in a classroom… thank you for everyone sending their love to my family and I. All I ask is that you hug your loved ones tonight and tell them you love them, you never know when you won't have the chance to anymore.”

Salvador Ramos allegedly shot his grandmother in the face on Tuesday morning, then drove to an elementary school in his hometown of Uvalde, Texas and murdered 19 children and two adults.

Ramos’s mother, Adriana Reyes, was in disbelief that her son was capable of such violence on Tuesday evening, telling her boyfriend’s mother hours after the attack that she was still looking for Ramos and didn’t think that the 18-year-old would shoot his grandmother, according to Maria Alvarez.

Maria Alvarez’s son, Juan, has been dating Reyes for about a year. Reyes went to San Antonio with her wounded mother immediately following the shooting but returned to Alvarez’s home in Uvalde looking for her boyfriend that evening, seemingly in shock about the tragedy that had just rocked the small town.

For more on this story: Mother of Texas school shooter was in disbelief about son shooting grandmother, boyfriend's mom says

Beto O’Rourke on Wednesday criticized Texas Gov. Greg Abbott for attending a campaign fundraiser hours after the deadly shooting that left 19 children and two teachers dead in Uvalde unfolded.

“He was counting dollars while they were counting bodies,” O’Rourke, who is running against Abbott for governor, tweeted.

Abbott acknowledged he went to the event but said he only stopped by to say he couldn’t stay because of the shooting.

"On the way back to Austin, I stopped and let people know that I could not stay, that I needed to go and I wanted them to know what happened and get back to Austin so I could continue to my collaboration with Texas law enforcement," Abbott said during a press conference, according to the Texas Tribune.

His team says all of his campaign events have since been canceled.

O’Rourke also disrupted an Abbott press conference earlier in the day, saying the shooting “is on you” before he was escorted out. 

For more on this story: Beto O’Rourke criticizes Abbott for attending campaign fundraiser after Texas school shooting

Two family members of one of the victims killed in Tuesday's shooting at Robb Elementary School comfort each other during a prayer vigil in Uvalde, Texas, Wednesday, May 25, 2022. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Witnesses said that loved ones and onlookers anxiously waiting outside Robb Elementary on Tuesday as the gunman was inside shooting teachers and students urged police who were outside the school to go in and try to stop the shooter.

Some also suggested they take it upon themselves to try and stop him.

Department of Public Safety Director Steve McCraw said the gunman could have been in the school for 40 minutes to an hour.

“Go in there! Go in there!” a woman shouted to officers soon after the shooting happened, witness Juan Carranza, 24, said. He lives across the street from the school. “There were more of them. There was just one of him,” he said.

But he said the officers stayed outside.

Javier Cazares went to the school after hearing about the shooting because his daughter went to school there.

He said he suggested a group of civilians “rush in because the cops aren’t doing anything like they are supposed to. More could have been done. They were unprepared.”

His daughter, Jacklyn Cazares, died in the attack.

Officials say the shooter “encountered" a school district security officer outside the school, though there were conflicting reports from authorities on whether the men exchanged gunfire.

After running inside, the gunman fired on two arriving Uvalde police officers who were outside the building, said Texas Department of Public Safety spokesperson Travis Considine. The police officers were injured.

He then went inside a classroom and began killing.

The gunman wasn’t killed for the better part of an hour until a Border Patrol team tactical unit (Uvalde is near the Mexican border) arrived and shot him.

A person who spoke on condition of anonymity said Border Patrol had trouble opening the locked door and a staff member had to get a key. 

McCraw told reporters that 40 minutes to an hour elapsed from when Ramos opened fire on the school security officer to when the tactical team shot him, though a department spokesman said later that they could not give a solid estimate of how long the gunman was in the school or when he was killed.

“The bottom line is law enforcement was there," McCraw said. “They did engage immediately. They did contain (Ramos) in the classroom.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

For more on this story: Who are the victims killed at Uvalde elementary school?

Nevaeh Bravo, one of the victims of the mass shooting Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, is seen in this undated photo obtained from social media. Source: Nevaeh Bravo's Family/via REUTERS

Nevaeh Bravo was one of 19 children killed on Tuesday when a gunman entered her Robb Elementary Classroom.

Her death was confirmed by her cousin's social media, according to local reports.

"Unfortunately my beautiful Nevaeh was one of the many victims from today’s tragedy… Rest in peace my sweet girl, you didn’t deserve this," the post read.

For more on this story:  Who are the victims killed at Uvalde elementary school?

Eva Mireles (left) and Irma Garcia (right) are pictured together in a photo obtained from social media. Both teachers have been identified as victims of the school shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, on May 24, 2022.

Co-teachers Eva Mireles and Irma Garcia were killed when the gunman came inside their classroom and began shooting. Nineteen students as young as 8 years old were also killed.

The pair had been a teaching team for five years at Robb Elementary.

For more on this story: Who are the victims killed at Uvalde elementary school?

Teacher Irma Garcia, one of the victims of the mass shooting Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, is seen in this undated photo obtained from social media. Irma Garcia's Family/via REUTERS

Irma Garcia was one of two teachers killed at Robb Elementary on Tuesday.

She taught at Robb Elementary for more than 20 years and had been a co-teacher with Eva Mireles, who also died, according to the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District.

She was married with four children, according to her district biography.

She enjoyed barbecuing with her family, listening to music and traveling to Concan, Texas. Her eldest son, Cristian was completing Marine Corps boot camp and another is a student at Texas State University. She also had two daughters, Lyliana, who is a high-schooler and Alysandra, who is in middle school.

For more on this story: Who are the victims killed at Uvalde elementary school?

Beto O'Rourke tweets from the Uvalde vigil Wednesday night, saying it reminds him of the 2019 mass shooting at a Walmart in his hometown of El Paso that left 23 people dead. Twenty-one people, including 19 children, were killed Tuesday.

"This community won’t let anyone go through this alone," he wrote.

Sen. Marco Rubio calls for a ‘multidisciplinary’ approach to preventing school shootings on ‘Jesse Watters Primetime.’

Residents of Uvalde, Texas, attended a prayer vigil Wednesday evening for the 19 students and two teachers lost in the Robb Elementary School shooting.

The community in Uvalde, Texas gather to remember the 19 children and two teachers killed Tuesday in an elementary school.

Mourners in Uvalde gathered Wednesday to remember the 21 victims killed in a mass shooting that has shaken the rural Texas town.

The prayer vigil came a day after 19 schoolchildren and two teachers were gunned down Tuesday. Vigils were also held in other cities throughout the states, including San Antonio and Austin.

In a tweet hours before the vigil, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said "families are broken apart" and "hearts are forever shattered."

Sandy Hook Promise CEO Nicole Hockley, whose own son was a Sandy Hook victim, addressed the families who lost loved ones at Robb Elementary School in the Uvalde, Texas, shooting on "Your World."

To read more of this story: Mother of Sandy Hook victim sends message to parents of Texas school shooting victims

The loved one of a teacher slain in Tuesday’s Uvalde, Texas, school shooting – which resulted in the death of 19 elementary school kids and two adults – is remembering the woman as a "hero" as investigators continue to search for clues as to the gunman’s possible motive in the attack. 

Fourth grade teacher Eva Mireles "put love into everything she did – with her daughter, with her family, with the school – and I will always remember her, honestly, as a hero for doing what she did," Amber Ybara told Fox News on Wednesday. 

To read more of this story: Slain Uvalde, Texas, school teacher Eva Mireles remembered as 'hero'

A cap worn by a Border Patrol agent is torn after being struck by a bullet as authorities engaged a gunman who killed 21 people inside a Uvalde, Texas elementary school on Tuesday. (CBP)

A cap worn by a U.S. Border Patrol agent was struck by a bullet when he and a tactical team engaged a gunman who killed 21 people, 19 of them children, inside Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas.

The shooter, identified by authorities as Salvador Ramos, 18, fired at the agent as he breached a room with other agents and a bullet struck the hat. Ramos was eventually killed.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection sources told Fox News the veteran agent is assigned to the Del Rio Sector in South Texas.

Many of the agents based in Uvalde, which sits near the U.S.-Mexico border, have children who attend the school. 

UVALDE, Texas – Rep. Tony Gonzales, who represents Uvalde, said Beto O'Rourke's outburst during Gov. Greg Abbot's update on the Texas shooting was "spewing rhetoric and hate" when the community needs unity.

"It's sad to see politicians try to capitalize politically off of the death of innocent children," Gonzales, a Republican, told Fox News.

To read more on this story: Rep. Tony Gonzales responds to Beto O'Rourke's outburst during Greg Abbott's Uvalde shooting update

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton discusses Beto O'Rourke's outburst at the Uvalde school shooting press conference with Fox News Digital.

A law enforcement officer helps people cross the street at Uvalde Memorial Hospital after a mass shooting earlier in the day at Robb Elementary School. (Billy Calzada/The San Antonio Express-News via AP)

Uvalde Memorial Hospital on Wednesday said all the victims it received from the Robb Elementary School mass shooting were no longer in its facility.

The hospital said it received 15 patients in the emergency room, of which 11 were children, according to an update. Of the 11 children, four were transferred to other hospitals in San Antonio and seven were discharged.

Four adults were also treated – one was transferred and three were released.In addition to the patients that were treated, two children arrived to the hospital deceased.

“A check in the emergency room this morning indicated that none of those discharged from our emergency room yesterday had to return for further treatment overnight and currently we do not have any patients in-house that were involved in yesterday’s incident,” the hospital said.

Beto O'Rourke interrupts a press conference held by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott following a shooting yesterday at Robb Elementary School which left 21 dead including 19 children, on Wednesday in Uvalde, Texas. (Jordan Vonderhaar/Getty Images)

Former Democratic gubernatorial candidate Beto O'Rourke caused a firestorm Wednesday when he interrupted Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, Republican, during a press conference in Uvalde to address a deadly mass shooting there.

Abbott spoke for roughly 10 minutes and then attempted to transfer the microphone to Lt. Gov. when O'Rourke approached the stage.

O'Rourke was seen pointing at the stage and arguing with officials before being kicked out. 

President Joe Biden speaks about the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, from the White House on Tuesday. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

President Biden is planning to visit Uvalde, Texas where a gunman killed 19 schoolchildren and two teachers in one of the deadliest school shootings in U.S. history.

Administration officials told Reuters the trip could be as early as this weekend. White House officials were still working out the details. 

During a Tuesday night address to the nation, Biden called for changes to gun laws and expressed his heartbreak.

"To lose a child is like having a piece of your soul ripped away," he said. "There's a hollowness in your chest, you feel like you're being sucked into it, never able to get out. Suffocating. It's never quite the same."

Image of suspected Uvalde, Texas school shooter Salvador Ramos. (Uvalde Police Department)

Salvador Ramos, the alleged gunman accused of shooting his grandmother and then targeting dozens of victims – ultimately killing 19 children and two adults – at a Texas elementary school was known to be a loner who had quit his job just weeks before unleashing his attack, Fox News has learned. 

Ramos, an 18-year-old Uvalde, Texas, resident, legally purchased two AR-platform rifles on May 17 and May 20, and bought 375 rounds of ammunition on May 18, Texas Sen. John Whitmire told Fox affiliate KCPQ-TV, citing a briefing from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Read more on this story: Who is the Texas school shooter? What we know

The country’s most influential gun-rights group issued a statement offering its sympathies to the families and victims impacted by Tuesday mass shooting at a Uvalde, Texas elementary school.

“Our deepest sympathies are with the families and victims involved in this horrific and evil crime,” the National Rifle Association said Wednesday. “Although an investigation is underway and facts are still emerging, we recognize this was the act of a lone, deranged criminal.”

The group also praised school officials as well as first responders and others who have offered their support and services to the victims and their families.

The NRA will host its annual Meetings & Exhibits conference in Houston from Friday through Sunday. Former President Trump is slated to speak at the event.

“As we gather in Houston, we will reflect on these events, pray for the victims, recognize out patriotic members, and pledge to redouble our commitment to making our schools secure,” the group said. 

Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation Christopher Wray testifies Wednesday during a Senate Appropriations Subcommittee hearing on the fiscal year 2023 budget for the FBI in Washington. (Bonnie Cash/Pool Photo via AP)

FBI Director Christopher Wray on Wednesday said he feels for the families of the victims and the entire community of Uvalde, Texas impacted by this week's mass shooting.

“I know you’re experiencing unimaginable pain and trauma. The entire FBI family feels your heartbreak and stands with you,” he said in a statement issued through the bureau.

He also praised the law enforcement officers and first responders who rushed to the scene where suspected gunman Salvador Ramos killed 19 children and two adults at an elementary school. FBI agents are working with the Texas Department of Public Safety, the Uvalde Police Department and other law enforcement agencies on the investigation, he said.

“On top of that, we’ve deployed national resources, including investigative and analytical support, evidence response and laboratory personnel, victim services professionals to assist families of the victims, and crisis management and behavioral analysis units,” said Wray.

"We’re absolutely heartbroken about yesterday’s tragic events and committed to doing our part to support our partners in the investigation and the Uvalde community as we begin to try to move forward," he added.

UVALDE, Texas - Rolando Reyes, the grandfather of Texas school shooting suspect Salvador Ramos, told reporters on Wednesday that he feels for the victims of Tuesday's mass shooting at Robb Elementary School that left at least 19 students and two teachers dead.

"I feel for the victims and the families," Reyes told reporters as he got in his vehicle Wednesday, adding that he's "not happy about" his now-deceased grandson's alleged actions on Tuesday.

For more on this story: Texas school shooting suspect Salvador Ramos' grandfather says he feels for victims, families

The Texas Department of Public Safety confirmed a school police officer exchanged gunfire with the suspected shooter who unleashed fatal gunfire at Robb Elementary in Uvalde. 

Texas DPS confirmed to Fox News that the school officer was injured by gunfire, which allowed suspect Salvador Ramos to run inside the school and barricade himself. Ramos dropped a bag of ammunition at the entrance of the school as a result of the shootout, according to DPS. 

To read more, click here.

The Texas Department of Public Safety confirmed a school police officer exchanged gunfire with the suspected shooter who unleashed fatal gunfire at Robb Elementary in Uvalde. 

Texas DPS confirmed to Fox News that the school officer was injured by gunfire, which allowed suspect Salvador Ramos to run inside the school and barricade himself. Ramos dropped a bag of ammunition at the entrance of the school as a result of the shootout, according to DPS. 

DPS added in a comment to Fox News that three local officers were wounded during the attack. 

For more on this story: SRO officer was in the school, exchanged gunfire with shooter

Beto O'Rourke is seen Wednesday at Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's press conference about the Uvalde shooting. (Reuters)

Failed Texas candidate Beto O'Rourke attempted to derail Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's response to the shooting in Uvalde, Texas, on Wednesday.

Abbott spoke for roughly 10 minutes and then attempted to transfer the microphone to Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick when O'Rourke approached the stage.

O'Rourke's words were not audible, but he was pointing aggressively at the stage even as those on it shouted him down.

For more on this story: Beto O'Rourke derails Gov. Greg Abbott update on Uvalde shooting

Democrat Beto O'Rourke engaged in a fiery exchange Wednesday with Texas Lt. Gov Dan Patrick during Gov. Abbott's press conference about the Uvalde shooting. 

O’Rourke, who is running for governor of Texas, approached the front of the room and started making comments to Abbott and Patrick. 

“You are doing nothing,” O’Rourke was heard telling them at one point. 

O’Rourke was asked repeatedly to leave the auditorium. 

Uvalde Mayor Don McLaughlin then called O’Rourke a “sick son of a b----” who came to the event to make a “political issue.” 

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said the three police officers who were injured in the shooting are in good condition.

One deputy sheriff, he said, lost a daughter in the attack.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said Wednesday that a Border Patrol officer killed Salvador Ramos after the 18-year-old launched a shooting spree inside Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. 

Abbott said Ramos had no known mental health history and used an AR-15 in the attack. 

About a half hour before the school shooting, Ramos started posting messages on Facebook, according to Abbott. 

“The first post was to the point of he said, ‘I'm going to shoot my grandmother.’ The second post was I shot my grandmother. The third post, maybe less than 15 minutes before arriving at the school, was I'm going to shoot an elementary school,” Abbott told reporters. 

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said Wednesday that “Uvalde has been shaken to its core.” 

“Families are broken apart. Hearts are forever shattered,” he said. “All Texans are grieving with the people of Uvalde and people are rightfully angry about what has happened.” 

“What they need now more than ever is our love, what they need is uplifting from all of our fellow Texans and fellow Americans,” Abbott added. 

Abbott also said "the reason it was not worse was because law enforcement officials did what they do. They showed amazing courage by running toward gunfire to try to save lives." 

A Uvalde parent whose 8-year-old son survived Tuesday's shooting shared his feelings about the massacre that killed 19 students and two teachers.

"Yesterday, I was just full of emotions," Guadelupe Leija told Fox News. "It's heartbreaking. My heart goes out all the families that lost a loved one."

"I mean, they're kids," he continued. "They're babies."

For more on this story: Uvalde parent whose child survived massacre reacts to horror of shooting

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is set to speak at 1:30 p.m. ET about the Robb Elementary School shooting in Uvalde, Texas.

Watch Live: Gov. Abbott holding press conference to address Texas school shooting.

Two Robb Elementary School students who were missing hours after a horrific shooting at the school are among the 22 people who were killed, the families say.

The whereabouts of Elijah Cruz Torres, 10, were unknown in the aftermath of the second-deadliest mass shooting of a school in U.S. history since Sandy Hook Elementary. Her family confirmed the worst to Fox News Wednesday.

Annabelle Guadalupe Rodriguez, 10, who did not make contact with her family in the hours after suspected gunman Salvador Ramos, a student of Uvalde High School, carried out his shooting spree, was also among those who died, her father told Fox 7 Austin.

For more on this story: Texas school shooting: Missing 10-year-old girls among those killed, families say

All of the victims in the Robb Elementary School shooting in Uvalde, Texas have been identified, Texas officials said Wednesday. 

The officials told Fox News that each of the victims’ families have been contacted. 

As of Wednesday, the death toll in Tuesday’s attack stood at 19 children and two teachers, while 17 remain injured. 

For more on this story: All victims identified, Salvador Ramos' grandmother in serious condition

Investigators in Texas continued to hunt for a motive early Wednesday after a lone shooter entered Robb Elementary School in Uvalde and killed at least 19 students and two adults.

Lt. Chris Olivarez with the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) appeared on "America’s Newsroom" to give an update on what investigators have learned so far, and what questions still need answers surrounding the history and motive of 18-year-old shooter Salvador Ramos.

"We do know for a fact that there was no criminal history or no gang affiliation as well that would have set off any indicators for him to make this purchase [of a long rifle]," Olivarez said.

For more on this story: Texas school shooting investigators hunt for motive: 'A lot of unanswered questions'

The teenager suspected of killing 19 children and two teachers inside a southwest Texas school legally purchased two rifles shortly after his 18th birthday and used one of them in Tuesday's shooting.

Salvador Ramos, 18, legally purchased AR platform rifles on May 17, 2022 and May 20, 2022, according to a briefing from Texas Sen. John Whitmire on Wednesday. One of the guns was found in Ramos’s car outside the school and the other one was found with his body inside the school. Ramos reportedly turned 18 on May 16, according to ABC. 

Ramos also purchased 375 rounds of 5.56 ammunition, Whitmire and Texas State Sen. Roland Gutierrez told the Austin American-Statesman. 

For more on this story: Texas school shooting: Shooter legally purchased 2 rifles upon turning 18 days before shooting

Law enforcement work the scene after a mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, on Tuesday, May 25. (Jordan Vonderhaar/Getty Images)

Multiple police officers who responded to the Robb Elementary School shooting in Uvalde, Texas, were struck with gunfire by a suspect who "just began shooting anyone that was in his way," a law enforcement officer revealed Wednesday. 

Texas Department of Public Safety Lt. Chris Olivarez, speaking on NBC’s "Today" show, said the events that led to the deaths of 19 students and two teachers began when Salvador Ramos shot his grandmother and then crashed a vehicle while fleeing that scene. Local police then got calls about an individual armed with a weapon making his way into the school, according to Olivarez. 

He said when law enforcement "tried to make entry into the building, they were met with gunfire by the suspect, by the shooter.  

For more on this story: Texas school shooting: New details emerge about police response, Salvador Ramos' 'evil' nature

Uziyah Garcia, 8, was among those killed in Tuesday’s shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. (Manny Renfro via AP)

In the hours after a lone gunman killed 19 children and two adults at a Texas elementary school on Tuesday, the victims have begun to be identified.

While some families made desperate pleas online to help find their missing children, other families mourned the loss of loved ones following the massacre at Robb Elementary School in the town of Uvalde, a seven-square-mile community located about 85 miles west of San Antonio.

Some names of those killed began to emerge by nightfall on Tuesday, many accompanied by photos of smiling children.

For more on this story: Who are the victims killed at Uvalde elementary school?

School districts across the U.S. are taking heightened security measures following a deadly mass shooting at a Texas elementary school.

An 18-year-old high school student killed at least 19 children and two teachers during the tragic attack at Robb Elementary School in Texas, prompting responses to increase safety in the final weeks of the school year.

In Georgia, school and law enforcement officials in several counties made announcements hours after the shooting. Gwinnett County, the largest in the state and 13th largest in the country with nearly 200,000 students, will see police officers on campuses, Fox 5 Atlanta reported.

For more on this story: Uvalde, Texas shooting response: School districts nationwide ramp up security

Pope Francis delivers his speech during his weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square, at the Vatican, on Wednesday, May 25. (AP/Andrew Medichini)

Pope Francis is speaking out Wednesday following the Robb Elementary School shooting in Uvalde, Texas, saying that "tragedies like this cannot occur again." 

Francis, addressing his general audience at the Vatican, said he is "heartbroken about the massacre" and is praying for the 19 children and two adults who lost their lives after shooter Salvador Ramos opened fire Tuesday. 

"It’s time to say ‘Enough’ to the indiscriminate trade of weapons!" Francis added. 

For more on this story: Texas school shooting: Pope Francis says massacres like Uvalde 'cannot occur again'

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is displayed on a screen as he addresses the audience from Kyiv on a screen during the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Monday, May 23. (AP/Markus Schreiber)

Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelenskyy and several other world leaders offered their condolences to the United States on Wednesday for the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas.

The shooting left at least 19 children and two adults killed. Zelenskyy stated he was "deeply saddened by the news of the murder of innocent children in Texas."

"The people of Ukraine share the pain of the relatives and friends of the victims and all Americans," Zelenskyy tweeted.

For more on this story: Texas school shooting: Ukraine's Zelenskyy, world leaders react, say they are 'deeply saddened'

This March 2022 photo provided by Manny Renfro shows his grandson, Uziyah Garcia, while on spring break in San Angelo, Texas. The 8-year-old was among those killed in Tuesday's shooting at Robb Elementary School on May 24 in Uvalde, Texas. (Manny Renfro via AP)

Uziyah Garcia, 8, was among the 19 children who were killed Tuesday following a mass shooting at Robb Elementary School on May 24 in Uvalde, Texas. Two teachers at the school were also killed during the rampage.

Manny Renfro, young Uziyah's grandfather, confirmed the death with the Associated Press.

“The sweetest little boy that I’ve ever known,” Renfro said. “I’m not just saying that because he was my grandkid.”

Renfro said he last saw Uziyah when the boy visited him over spring break.

“We started throwing the football together and I was teaching him pass patterns. Such a fast little boy and he could catch a ball so good,” Renfro said. “There were certain plays that I would call that he would remember and he would do it exactly like we practiced.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Equipment from the San Antonio Fire Department is parked outside Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, on Tuesday, May 24. (William Luther/The San Antonio Express-News via AP)

Attorney General Merrick Garland said the Justice Department was utilizing its resources to aid local law enforcement agencies following a deadly shooting in Uvalde, Texas.

“Today, another mass shooting has taken the lives of innocent victims, including elementary school children and their teacher. This act of unspeakable violence has devastated an entire community and shaken our country," he said in a statement.

“FBI and ATF agents have responded to the scene, and the Justice Department is committed to providing our full support to our law enforcement partners on the ground in Texas and to the Uvalde community," he added. 

And, “We join our fellow Americans in mourning this terrible loss and in their resolve to end this senseless violence.”

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called on Congress to take action following the "cold-blooded massacre" that took place Tuesday morning at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas.

"Words are inadequate to describe the agony and outrage at the cold-blooded massacre of little schoolchildren and a teacher at Robb Elementary School today," Pelosi said in a statement. "The hearts of all Americans are broken as we pray for the families left forever shattered and a community left forever scarred."

"This shooting stole the futures of children, who won't experience joys of graduating from school, chasing a career, falling in love, even starting a family of their own. We hold close all who have lost a loved one to gun violence, as this horrible crime deepens their suffering," she added.

"For too long, some in Congress have offered hollow words after shootings while opposing all efforts to save lives," Pelosi continued. "It is time for all in Congress to heed the will of the American people & join in enacting the House-passed bipartisan, commonsense, life-saving legislation into law."

Ukraine Foreign Affairs Minister Dmytro Kuleba responded to Tuesday's school shooting in Uvalde, Texas.

"Horrible news from Uvalde, Texas. Our deepest sympathy is with the victims and their families," Kuleba tweeted. "As a nation that goes through the pain of losing innocent young lives, Ukraine shares the pain of our U.S. friends."

"We stand in solidarity with you at this difficult time," he added, tagging his U.S. counter-part Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed his condolences and said he was "deeply saddened" following the horrific school shooting in Uvalde, Texas.

"Deeply saddened by the news of the murder of innocent children in Texas," he tweeted. "Sincere condolences to the families of the victims, the people of the US and @POTUS over this tragedy."

"The people of Ukraine share the pain of the relatives and friends of the victims and all Americans," he added.

The tweet came amid Ukraine's ongoing defense of their country against Russian invaders and the same day Zelenskyy gave a nightly address where he said the current military struggle in Donbas is "extremely difficult."

Former U.S. President Bill Clinton released a statement following the deadly shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas.

“My heart breaks for the families who sent their children and loved ones off to school today at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, whose lives will now never be the same,” Clinton said.

“We owe these families — and the families who have experienced similar losses, including as recently as last week in Buffalo — action,” he added

“Enough is enough. The American people overwhelmingly agree. Our elected leaders at the local, state, and federal levels, regardless of party, must find common-sense ways to keep our children and communities safe.”

“They can do so without touching the right to hunt, sport shoot, and keep guns for self-defense. Propaganda and paranoia have kept us from helping each other on this for too long. We can do — and be — better."

He concluded: "The time to act is now."

Authorities identified Salvador Ramos as the shooter who opened fire in Robb Elementary in Uvalde, Texas, on Tuesday. The 18-year-old shot and killed at least 19 students and two teachers, Fox News confirmed.

Ramos allegedly posted disturbing images online before the shooting, and apparently messaged a woman about his plans before he carried out the deadly attack. The Instagram account has since been taken down.

The same account allegedly sent alarming messages to a woman before the deadly attack. The first message, sent on May 12, asked, "You gonna repost my gun pics?"

For more on the story, click here: Who is the Texas school shooter? What we know

Uvalde School District Superintendent Hal Harrell said his "heart is broken" following the loss of at least 19 children and 2 adults in a school shooting Tuesday morning.

"My heart is broken today," a visibly emotional Harrell told reporters later that afternoon, Reuters reported.

As investigators continue to unpack the series of events that led up to the second deadliest school shooting in U.S. history, Harrell said his community was appreciative of people praying for his "small community."

"We’re a small community and we need your prayers to get us through this," he added.

Fourth-grade teacher Eva Mireles was identified as a victim in a school shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas on May 24, 2022.

Fourth-grade teacher Eva Mireles has been identified as one of the two adult victims in a school shooting that also left 19 children dead at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas.

A relative of Mireles said she will be remembered as a loving mother and wife.

"She was adventurous. I would definitely say those wonderful things about her. She is definitely going to be very missed," said Amber Ybarra, 44, of San Antonio.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott will visit Uvalde Wednesday, the day after the second deadliest school shooting in U.S. history, Fox News has learned.

"Texans across the state are grieving for the victims of this senseless crime and for the community of Uvalde," Abbott said following the shooting. "Cecilia and I mourn this horrific loss and we urge all Texans to come together to show our unwavering support to all who are suffering. We thank the courageous first responders who worked to finally secure Robb Elementary School."

"I have instructed the Texas Department of Public Safety and the Texas Rangers to work with local law enforcement to fully investigate this crime. the Texas Division of Emergency Management is charged with providing local officials all resources necessary to respond to this tragedy as the state of Texas works to ensure the community has what it needs to heal," he added.

The Dallas Mavericks and the Golden State Warriors held a moment of silence before Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals for the victims of the Robb Elementary School shooting in Uvalde, Texas.

Elijah Cruz Torres,10, is still missing following a shooting incident at Robb Elementary School (Photo courtesy of the family)

A 4th grade student is still missing following a shooting incident at Robb Elementary School and her family fears the worst.

Hours after suspected gunman Salvador Ramos allegedly gunned down 22 people, including 19 children, 10-year-old Elijah Cruz Torres is still missing.

She has not made any contact with her family, who are worried she is dead, her grandfather told Fox News Digital.

The total number of dead from Tuesday's shooting at a Uvalde, Texas elementary school has increased to 22 victims.

The Texas Department of Public Safety told Fox News that 19 children were killed as well as two teachers were confirmed dead.

The other person killed was the suspected gunman, Salvador Ramos.

Former President Barack Obama issued calls to support the families in Uvalde, Texas while also criticizing lawmakers for failing to prevent another mass shooting that killed 18 children at an elementary school Tuesday.

“Across the country, parents are putting their children to bed, reading stories, singing lullabies—and in the back of their minds, they’re worried about what might happen tomorrow after they drop their kids off at school, or take them to a grocery store or any other public space,” he said in a series of tweets.

“Michelle and I grieve with the families in Uvalde, who are experiencing pain no one should have to bear. We’re also angry for them,” he added. “Nearly ten years after Sandy Hook—and ten days after Buffalo—our country is paralyzed, not by fear, but by a gun lobby and a political party that have shown no willingness to act in any way that might help prevent these tragedies."

“It’s long past time for action, any kind of action. And it’s another tragedy—a quieter but no less tragic one—for families to wait another day. May God bless the memory of the victims, and in the words of Scripture, heal the brokenhearted and bind up their wounds.

President Joe Biden speaks to the nation about the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School Tuesday in Uvalde, Texas, from the White House. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

President Biden called for changes to gun laws Tuesday and expressed his heartbreak following a mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas elementary school.

Biden, who learned of the shooting at Robb Elementary School while on Air Force One returning from his trip to Asia, said that "to lose a child is like having a piece of your soul ripped away.

There's a hollowness in your chest, you feel like your being sucked into it, never able to get out. Suffocating. It's never quite the same.

To read more, click here.

An agent with the Border Patrol Tactical Unit (BORTAC), a specialized unit within the U.S. Border Patrol, is believed to have shot and killed the suspected gunman who killed 18 children and at least one adult at Robb Elementary school on Tuesday in Uvalde, Texas.

The agent entered the school with a team while other law enforcement officers engaged with the suspect who was barricaded, Border Patrol sources told Fox News.

The agent was struck in the leg by either a bullet or shrapnel. 

BORTAC provides immediate response to high-risk incidents requiring special skills and tactics, according to the Border Patrol. The team has full-time members based in El Paso, Texas and non-full-time members throughout the United States. 

Law enforcement personnel stand outside Robb Elementary School following a shooting on Tuesday in Uvalde, Texas. (AP Photo/Dario Lopez-Mills)

Vice President Kamala Harris called on leaders to take action following the deadly mass shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas Tuesday.

"Every time a tragedy like this happens, our hearts break and our broken hearts are nothing compared to the broken hearts of those families," Harris said.

To read more, click here.

People leave the Uvalde Civic Center following a shooting earlier in the day at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. (William Luther/The San Antonio Express-News via AP)

The Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District (UCISD) in Texas had many security measures in place before Tuesday's mass shooting that left at least 18 students and a teacher dead after a now-deceased suspect opened fire at Robb Elementary School. 

Simple settlement for instant in placeThe now-deceased suspect, Salvador Ramos, is accused of entering school grounds on Tuesday and opening fire, according to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott. 

To read more,click here.

The father of a 10-year-old girl told Fox News his daughter was missing following a deadly shooting at an Elementary school that has claimed the lives of at least 18 children and two adults, including the suspected shooter who also died.

Annabelle Guadalupe Rodriguez is a student at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde and her photo was provided to Texas Rangers. 

The death toll in the Uvalde, Texas elementary school shooting is now 20, including 18 children and two adults, including the suspected gunman.

President Biden speaks with Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to offer assistance hours after a gunman killed 14 students and one teacher at a Uvalde, Texas elementary school.

 President Biden spoke with Texas Gov. Greg Abbott where he offered “any and all assistance he needs” in the wake of the shooting in Uvalde.

White House Communications Director Kate Bedingfield tweeted an image of Biden on the phone with Abbott while aboard what appears to be Air Force One.

Biden will issue remarks about the shooting at 8:15 P.M. ET from the White House. 

U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, offered his prayers to families in Uvalde impacted by Tuesday deadly mass shooting while thanking law enforcement and first responders.

"Today is a dark day. We’re all completely sickened and heartbroken. As of now, 15 innocent people are dead. 14 were children. Others are still in critical condition or otherwise injured, and we are all praying for each of them," he said in a statement. "I’m grateful for the heroes in law enforcement and first responders who responded to the scene and stopped the killer."

“Heidi and I are lifting up in prayer the entire Uvalde community during this devastating time and we mourn the lives that were taken by this act of evil. None of us can imagine the anguish the parents in Uvalde are going through. Our hearts go out to them.

“We’ve seen too many of these shootings. No parent should have to bear the pain of burying their child. We need to come together, as one nation, and support Uvalde as they try to heal from this devastating loss.”

Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, called the shooting at a Uvalde elementary shooting “every parent and teacher’s worst nightmare.” 

“No parent, child, or teacher should ever have to wonder whether it’s safe to go to school. This is an excruciatingly difficult time for the tight-knit Uvalde community and for all Texans as we mourn this terrible tragedy,” he said in a statement hours after the shooting. “My heart goes out to those in the hospital receiving care and to the loved ones of those who lost their lives. As a parent, the pain they must be feeling is unimaginable.”

“I am in touch with local officials in Uvalde and will continue to monitor the situation. I’m grateful to law enforcement and everyone who worked to stop the shooter and to the medical staff working now to prevent further loss of life.

President Biden on Tuesday ordered all American flags at the White House and public buildings be flown at half-staff to honor the victims of the Uvalde school shooting that took 15 lives, many of them children.

The order also applies to all military post, naval stations and vessels until Saturday at sunset.He will address the shooting at 8:15 P.M. ET from the Roosevelt Room in the White House.

The order came hours after a gunman opened fire at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, about 80 miles west of San Antonio.

The shooter was killed. 

A law enforcement officer speaks with people outside Uvalde High School after a deadly shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. (William Luther/The San Antonio Express-News via AP)

A shooting at a Texas elementary school killed 14 children and one teacher on Tuesday, Gov. Greg Abbott said.

Abbott identified the suspect as Salvador Ramos, a Uvalde resident, who is also dead.The Texas Department of Public Safety and Uvalde Mayor Don McLaughlin told Fox News that the shooter – who ran to Robb Elementary School – had become barricaded inside during the unfolding shooting.