Dikhyaa Mohanty 
An 18-year-old gunman has killed 21 people, including 18 children, and rendered several others grievously injured at an elementary school in Texas state, before the assailant was eliminated in police firing.
According to the official reports, Texas Governor Greg Abbott identified the killer as Salvador Ramos, a resident of the area where the school was located. The shooter’s motive remains unclear, whereas the toll was raised to 18 children and three adults dead.
Abbott stated that he shot and killed horrifically, incomprehensibly. Fourteen students and a teacher were killed. Two law enforcement officers were shot but are expected to recover. Ramos was armed with a handgun and an AR-15 semiautomatic rifle, along with high-capacity ammunition magazines.
The report further added that the names of the deceased and other details were yet to be released. The students are aged between 5 years and 11 years.
Chief of Police, Uvalde, Pete Arredondo said the “Mass casualty event occurred at Robb Elementary School at about 11:32 this morning. The deceased children are in the second, third and fourth grades – aged between 7 years and 10 years.”
US President Joe Biden was briefed on the shooting during his return flight from Japan where he attended the Quad Summit. Biden has ordered the US flag to be flown at half-mast until sunset on Saturday, May 28, in memory of those killed in Texas.
The US flag across all public buildings, grounds, military posts, naval stations, naval vessels, embassies, consular offices and military facilities will be in half-mast. In Uvalde, all schools were locked once the gunshots were heard. The South Texas Blood and Tissue Center issued a public appeal for blood donations. They have already sent over 15 units of blood and are running out.
