UVALDE, Texas (AP) — At least 14 students and one teacher have died in the wake of a deadly shooting at an elementary school in Texas, according to Gov. Greg Abbott (R).
More than a dozen children were taken by ambulance or bus to Uvalde Memorial Hospital after an active shooter was reported at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, about 85 miles (135 kilometers) west of San Antonio, officials with the hospital said. The health of the children is unclear as is whether the dead are included in that count.
Another hospital, University Hospital in San Antonio, said a 66-year-old woman was in critical condition.
The nature and severity of the people’s injuries wasn’t immediately known, but the shooter was in custody shortly after 1 p.m, the Uvalde Police Department said.
The Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District had said an active shooter was reported at Robb Elementary School, which has an enrollment of just under 600 students. Earlier, the district had said that all schools in the district were locked down because of gunshots in the area.
A Uvalde Police Department dispatcher said the scene was still active and that no other information was immediately available. School and city officials did not immediately return messages seeking comment.
The district said that the city’s civic center was being used as a reunification center.
The shooting in Texas came less than two weeks after a gunman opened fire at a supermarket in Buffalo, New York, killing 10 black shoppers and workers in what officials have described as a hate crime. Uvalde is home to about 16,000 people and is the seat of government for Uvalde County. The town is about 75 miles from the border with Mexico. Robb Elementary is in a mostly residential neighborhood of modest homes. There is a funeral home across the street from the school.
