Metro
Gunman kills 19 children, two teachers at Texas elementary school
A teenage gunman killed at least 19 young children and two teachers at an elementary school in Texas on Tuesday, prompting a furious President Joe Biden to denounce the US gun lobby and vow to end the nation’s cycle of mass shootings.
The attack in Uvalde — a small community about an hour from the Mexican border — was the deadliest US school shooting in years and the latest in a spree of bloody gun violence across America.
“It’s time to turn this pain into action for every parent, for every citizen of this country,” Biden said, his voice heavy with emotion.
“It’s time for those who obstruct or delay or block common-sense gun laws — we need to let you know that we will not forget,” he said.
“As a nation, we have to ask when in God’s name are we going to stand up to the gun lobby? When in God’s name will we do what we all know in our gut needs to be done?”
Texas Governor Greg Abbott, addressing an earlier news conference, named the suspect as Salvador Ramos, an 18-year-old local resident, and a US citizen.
“He shot and killed, horrifically and incomprehensibly,” Abbott said.
Texas Department of Public Safety officials told CNN the gunman is believed to have shot his grandmother before heading to Robb Elementary School around noon where he abandoned his vehicle and entered with a handgun and a rifle, wearing body armor.
More Than Dozen Children Wounded
The gunman was killed by responding officers, the officials said, adding later two teachers also died in the attack.
“Right now there’s 19 children that were killed by this evil gunman, as well as two teachers from this school,” DPS spokesman Lieutenant Chris Olivarez told NBC News.
More than a dozen children were also wounded in the attack at the school, which teaches more than 500, mostly Hispanic and economically disadvantaged students.
Uvalde Memorial Hospital said on Facebook it had received 13 children while University Health hospital in San Antonio said on Twitter it had received a 66-year-old woman and a 10-year-old girl, both in critical condition, and two other girls aged nine and 10.
At least one Border Patrol agent responding to the incident was wounded in an exchange of gunfire with the shooter, Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman Marsha Espinosa tweeted.
Footage showed small groups of children weaving through parked cars and yellow buses, some holding hands as they fled under police escort from the school, which teaches students aged around seven to 10 years old.
It was the deadliest such incident since the 2012 Sandy Hook shooting in Connecticut, in which 20 children and six staff were killed.
The White House ordered flags to be flown at half-mast in mourning for the victims — whose deaths sent a wave of shock through a country still scarred by the horror of Sandy Hook.
‘Happens Nowhere Else’
Ted Cruz, a pro-gun rights Republican senator from Texas, tweeted that he and his wife were “lifting up in prayer the children and families in the horrific shooting in Uvalde.”
But Senator Chris Murphy, a Democrat from Connecticut, where the Sandy Hook shooting took place, made an impassioned appeal for concrete action to prevent further violence.
“This isn’t inevitable, these kids weren’t unlucky. This only happens in this country and nowhere else. Nowhere else do little kids go to school thinking that they might be shot that day,” Murphy said on the Senate floor in Washington.
“I’m here on this floor to beg, to literally get down on my hands and knees and beg my colleagues: Find a path forward here. Work with us to find a way to pass laws that make this less likely.”
The deadly assault in Texas follows a series of mass shootings in the United States this month.
On May 14, an 18-year-old man shot 10 people dead at a Buffalo, New York grocery store.
Wearing heavy body armor and wielding an AR-15 rifle, the self-declared white supremacist livestreamed his attack, having reportedly targeted the store because of the large surrounding African American population.
The following day, a man blocked the door of a church in Laguna Woods, California, and opened fire on its Taiwanese-American congregation, killing one person and wounding five.
Despite recurring mass-casualty shootings, multiple initiatives to reform gun regulations have failed in the US Congress, leaving states and local councils to strengthen — or weaken — their own restrictions.
The National Rifle Association has been instrumental in fighting against stricter US gun laws. Abbott and Cruz are listed as speakers at a forum that is being held by the powerful lobby in Houston, Texas later this week.
The United States suffered 19,350 firearm homicides in 2020, up nearly 35 percent compared to 2019, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in its latest data.
The Federal Government on Wednesday disclosed that no fewer than 226 Local Government Areas across 33 states and the Federal Capital Territory fall within high flood-risk zones in 2026.
The Minister of Water Resources and Sanitation, Joseph Utsev, made this known during the public presentation of the 2026 Annual Flood Outlook by the Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency held at the State Banquet Hall, Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Utsev said a total of 14,118 communities in 266 LGAs across the affected states and the FCT had been identified as highly vulnerable to flooding.
He listed the states as Abia, Adamawa, Anambra, Bauchi, Bayelsa, Benue, Borno, Cross River, Delta, Ebonyi, Edo, Enugu, Gombe, Imo, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Kebbi, Kogi, Kwara, Lagos, Nasarawa, Niger, Ogun, Ondo, Osun, Oyo, Plateau, Rivers, Sokoto, Taraba, Yobe, Zamfara, and the FCT.
The minister added that 405 LGAs in 35 states fall within the moderate flood-risk category, with Ekiti State as the only state not captured under this classification.
He further noted that 923 communities in 77 LGAs across 24 states would experience minimal flooding.
“Low flood risk incidences are expected in Adamawa, Anambra, Bauchi, Bayelsa, Benue, Borno, Cross River, Delta, Ebonyi, Edo, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Kebbi, Kogi, Nasarawa, Niger, Ogun, Ondo, Osun, Oyo, Sokoto, Taraba, and Zamfara,” Utsev said.
The minister also disclosed that the 2026 Annual Flood Outlook introduced a community-based flood forecasting system designed to provide location-specific predictions for faster response and intervention.
Meanwhile, President Bola Tinubu reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to strengthening emergency response systems and promoting sustainable development nationwide.
Represented by the Minister of Environment, Balarabe Lawal, the President said the government had reviewed existing challenges and acknowledged the critical role of rescue teams in mitigating disasters.
He noted that efforts were ongoing to enhance the capacity and coordination of relevant ministries for more effective and timely emergency responses.
Tinubu stressed that improved communication, strategic planning, and collaboration remained vital to addressing emerging challenges and ensuring better service delivery.
The President added that with strengthened systems in place, the government was confident of mitigating risks and improving outcomes for citizens.
The event, themed ‘Smart Water Resources Management: Moving From Oil To A Water-Based Economy’, was attended by ministers and key stakeholders in the water and environmental sectors.
Police authorities in Ondo State have confirmed a robbery attack at the Basic Health Centre in the Oke-Ijebu area of Akure, the state capital, in the early hours of Saturday.
It was gathered that three suspects armed with pump-action rifles and cutlasses invaded the facility after arriving in a black Toyota Venza, which they parked along the main road. The assailants reportedly scaled the perimeter fence to gain access to the premises.
During the attack, three health workers on duty were forcefully dispossessed of their personal belongings, including mobile phones and a Point of Sale terminal. The suspects subsequently whisked the victims away towards the Olokuta Correctional Centre axis along Ondo Road.
The spokesperson for the Ondo State Police Command, DSP Abayomi Jimoh, confirmed the incident in a statement issued on Saturday.
According to him, “Preliminary investigation reveals that the suspects ordered them to remove their clothing and subsequently abandoned them in the bush before fleeing the scene. The victims, however, found resort from nearby staff of the Correctional Service.”
Jimoh disclosed that security patrols had been intensified, while collaboration with other security agencies and local vigilante groups had been strengthened to enhance safety across the state.
He urged residents to remain calm, vigilant and law-abiding, adding that members of the public should promptly report suspicious activities or useful information to the nearest police station or other security agencies.
The police spokesman assured residents that the command remained committed to safeguarding lives and property and would not relent in efforts to rid the state of criminal elements.
Suspected kidnappers on Wednesday night shot a tomato farmer, Daniel Adesida, and abducted his wife during an attack on their residence along Oda Road in Akure, the Ondo State capital.
The incident reportedly occurred around 8:45 p.m., when the gunmen invaded the residence and attempted to whisk away the farmer’s wife.
Sources said Adesida sustained a gunshot injury to his right hand while trying to resist the attackers, who eventually escaped with his wife.
Confirming the incident, the Police Public Relations Officer of the Ondo State Command, Abayomi Jimoh, said police operatives swiftly responded after receiving a distress call.
According to him, officers mobilised to the scene, rescued the injured victim and ensured he received medical attention.
“Upon receiving the distress call, police operatives swiftly mobilised to the scene, ensured the injured victim was rescued and taken to the police clinic for medical attention, and secured the area,” Jimoh said.
He added that the Commissioner of Police in the state, Adebowale Lawal, had ordered an immediate manhunt for the fleeing suspects.
“The Commissioner of Police has ordered intensified patrols, bush combing operations and intelligence gathering within the affected area and adjoining communities with a view to apprehending the fleeing suspects,” he stated.
Jimoh assured residents that efforts were ongoing to rescue the abducted woman and bring the perpetrators to justice.
He also urged members of the public to remain vigilant and promptly report suspicious movements or individuals to the nearest police station.
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