Seven thousand pairs of shoes, representing the children killed by gun violence, are spread out on the lawn of the US Capitol on March 13, 2018.
PHOTO: AFP
WASHINGTON (AFP) - Eighteen students and three adults, including at least one teacher, were shot dead on Tuesday (May 25) when an 18-year-old gunman opened fire at their Texas elementary school, the latest in the United States' relentless cycle of school mass shootings.
Here are America's deadliest classroom gun massacres in the last two decades.
Columbine High School (1999)
WASHINGTON (AFP) - Eighteen students and three adults, including at least one teacher, were shot dead on Tuesday (May 25) when an 18-year-old gunman opened fire at their Texas elementary school, the latest in the United States' relentless cycle of school mass shootings.
Here are America's deadliest classroom gun massacres in the last two decades.
Columbine High School (1999)
The Chapel Hill Memorial Gardens in Littleton, Colorado, on April 20, 2019.
PHOTO: AFP
Two teenagers from Columbine, Colorado, armed with an assortment of weapons and homemade bombs, went on a rampage at their local high school.
Twelve students and a teacher were killed during the April 20 massacre. Another 24 people were wounded.
Columbine, whose name has become synonymous with school shootings, is one of the first - and still among the deadliest - such shootings in the United States.
Virginia Tech (2007)
Two teenagers from Columbine, Colorado, armed with an assortment of weapons and homemade bombs, went on a rampage at their local high school.
Twelve students and a teacher were killed during the April 20 massacre. Another 24 people were wounded.
Columbine, whose name has become synonymous with school shootings, is one of the first - and still among the deadliest - such shootings in the United States.
Virginia Tech (2007)
Memorial for the shooting victims on the Virginia Tech campus in Blacksburg, Virginia, on April 22, 2007.
PHOTO: AFP
A South Korean student at the Virginia Polytechnic Institute opened fire on the Blacksburg, Virginia, campus, killing 32 students and professors before committing suicide.
Thirty-three people were wounded.
The gunman had apparently idolised the Columbine shooters, referring to them as "martyrs" in a video, part of a hate-filled manifesto he mailed to police during the shooting.
Sandy Hook Elementary School (2012)
A South Korean student at the Virginia Polytechnic Institute opened fire on the Blacksburg, Virginia, campus, killing 32 students and professors before committing suicide.
Thirty-three people were wounded.
The gunman had apparently idolised the Columbine shooters, referring to them as "martyrs" in a video, part of a hate-filled manifesto he mailed to police during the shooting.
Sandy Hook Elementary School (2012)
A memorial for victims following the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, on Dec 16, 2012.
PHOTO: AFP
A 20-year-old man with a history of mental health issues killed his mother in Newtown, Connecticut, on December 14 before blasting his way into Sandy Hook Elementary School.
Twenty children, aged six and seven, were shot dead, as well as six adults. The shooter then committed suicide.
The parents of Sandy Hook victims have led numerous campaigns to toughen gun control laws, but their efforts have largely failed.
Some conspiracy theorists insist the massacre was a government hoax, claiming the shooting involved "actors" in a plot to discredit the gun lobby.
A 20-year-old man with a history of mental health issues killed his mother in Newtown, Connecticut, on December 14 before blasting his way into Sandy Hook Elementary School.
Twenty children, aged six and seven, were shot dead, as well as six adults. The shooter then committed suicide.
The parents of Sandy Hook victims have led numerous campaigns to toughen gun control laws, but their efforts have largely failed.
Some conspiracy theorists insist the massacre was a government hoax, claiming the shooting involved "actors" in a plot to discredit the gun lobby.
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Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School (2018)
On February 14, a 19-year-old former student at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School who was expelled for disciplinary reasons returned to the Parkland, Florida, school and opened fire.
He killed 14 students and three adult staff.
Stoneman Douglas students have become crusaders against gun violence under the banner "March for Our Lives," lobbying for tougher gun control laws and organising protests and rallies.
Their campaign has taken off on social media, mobilising hundreds of thousands of young Americans.
On February 14, a 19-year-old former student at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School who was expelled for disciplinary reasons returned to the Parkland, Florida, school and opened fire.
He killed 14 students and three adult staff.
Stoneman Douglas students have become crusaders against gun violence under the banner "March for Our Lives," lobbying for tougher gun control laws and organising protests and rallies.
Their campaign has taken off on social media, mobilising hundreds of thousands of young Americans.
Santa Fe High School (2018)
Ten people, including eight students, were killed when a 17-year-old student armed with a shotgun and a revolver opened fire on his classmates in rural Santa Fe, Texas.
Classes had just started on the morning of May 18 when the shooting began.
Following the tragedy, Texas Governor Greg Abbott unveiled 40 recommendations, mainly focused on increasing armed security on school campuses and stepping up mental health screenings to identify troubled children.
Gun ownership can be a point of pride for many Texans, and even some Santa Fe High School students spoke out against linking the shooting to the need for better gun control.
Ten people, including eight students, were killed when a 17-year-old student armed with a shotgun and a revolver opened fire on his classmates in rural Santa Fe, Texas.
Classes had just started on the morning of May 18 when the shooting began.
Following the tragedy, Texas Governor Greg Abbott unveiled 40 recommendations, mainly focused on increasing armed security on school campuses and stepping up mental health screenings to identify troubled children.
Gun ownership can be a point of pride for many Texans, and even some Santa Fe High School students spoke out against linking the shooting to the need for better gun control.
Texas attorney general says arming teachers 'best hope'
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who is facing a challenge in Tuesday's Republican primary from George P. Bush, told Fox News in the aftermath of the shooting that passing gun laws wouldn't do anything to stop gun violence but that arming school personnel might.
"We can't stop bad people from doing bad things, if they're going to violate murder laws they're not going to follow gun laws, I've never understood that argument," Paxton said. "But we can harden these schools, we can create points of access that are difficult to get through. We can potentially arm and prepare and train teachers and other administrators to respond quickly because the reality is we don't have the resources to have law enforcement at every school.
"It takes time for law enforcement, no matter how prepared, no matter how good they are, to get there, so having the right training for some of these people at the school is the best hope," he added. "Nothing is going to work perfectly, but that, in my opinion, is the best answer to this problem."
Uvalde congressman weighs in
Rep. Tony Gonzales, the first-term Republican who has represented Uvalde in Congress following his election in 2020, posted a Bible verse in response to Tuesday's shooting.
In January, Gonzales touted his endorsement from the National Rifle Association.
Biden to speak after 18 children, 3 adults are killed in Texas school shooting
Issued on: 24/05/2022 -
Text by:FRANCE 24
A teenage gunman opened fire at an elementary school in South Texas on Tuesday, killing 18 children and three adults before the suspect was also killed, officials said, in the latest spasm of mass gun violence sweeping the United States.
U.S. President Joe Biden is expected to speak from the White House. Biden called Texas Governor Greg Abbott to offer any and all assistance needed in the wake of the "horrific shooting" at a Texas elementary school, and will speak to the nation about it on Tuesday, the White House said.
Abbott said earlier that the suspect, identified as 18-year-old Salvador Ramos, was apparently killed by police officers responding to the scene, and that two officers were struck by gunfire, though the governor said their injuries were not serious.
Authorities said the suspect acted alone.
Abbott told a news conference hours after the shooting that 14 schoolchildren had been slain, along with one teacher. But Texas state Senator Roland Gutierrez later told CNN, citing the Texas Rangers state police as his source, that the death toll had climbed to 18 children and three adults.
The shooting unfolded just 10 days after 10 people were killed in Buffalo, New York, in a predominantly Black neighborhood. An 18-year-old man whom authorities said opened fire with an assault-style rifle has been charged.
The motive for Tuesday's massacre in Texas, the latest in a string of seemingly random mass shootings that have become commonplace in the United States, was not immediately known.
Official details remained sketchy about the circumstances of the late morning shooting at Robb Elementary School in the town of Uvalde, Texas, about 80 miles west of San Antonio.
Abbott said the suspect was believed to have abandoned his vehicle and entered the school armed with a handgun, and possibly a rifle, before opening fire.
Issued on: 24/05/2022 -
Text by:FRANCE 24
A teenage gunman opened fire at an elementary school in South Texas on Tuesday, killing 18 children and three adults before the suspect was also killed, officials said, in the latest spasm of mass gun violence sweeping the United States.
U.S. President Joe Biden is expected to speak from the White House. Biden called Texas Governor Greg Abbott to offer any and all assistance needed in the wake of the "horrific shooting" at a Texas elementary school, and will speak to the nation about it on Tuesday, the White House said.
Abbott said earlier that the suspect, identified as 18-year-old Salvador Ramos, was apparently killed by police officers responding to the scene, and that two officers were struck by gunfire, though the governor said their injuries were not serious.
Authorities said the suspect acted alone.
Abbott told a news conference hours after the shooting that 14 schoolchildren had been slain, along with one teacher. But Texas state Senator Roland Gutierrez later told CNN, citing the Texas Rangers state police as his source, that the death toll had climbed to 18 children and three adults.
The shooting unfolded just 10 days after 10 people were killed in Buffalo, New York, in a predominantly Black neighborhood. An 18-year-old man whom authorities said opened fire with an assault-style rifle has been charged.
The motive for Tuesday's massacre in Texas, the latest in a string of seemingly random mass shootings that have become commonplace in the United States, was not immediately known.
Official details remained sketchy about the circumstances of the late morning shooting at Robb Elementary School in the town of Uvalde, Texas, about 80 miles west of San Antonio.
Abbott said the suspect was believed to have abandoned his vehicle and entered the school armed with a handgun, and possibly a rifle, before opening fire.
France 24's Kethevane Gorjestani on Texas school shooting
Investigators believe Ramos shot and killed his grandmother before going to the school, CBS News reported, citing unidentified law enforcement sources.
"It is being reported that the subject shot his grandmother right before he went into the school," Abbott told reporters. "I have no further information about the connection between those two shootings."
University Hospital in San Antonio said on Twitter it had received two patients from the shooting in Uvalde, a 66-year-old woman and a 10-year-old girl, both listed in critical condition.
U.S. President Joe Biden, who ordered flags flown at half-staff until sunset daily until May 28 in observance of the tragedy, planned to address the nation about the shooting at 8:15 p.m. EDT, the White House said.
The student body at the school consists of children in the second, third and fourth grades, according to Pete Arredondo, chief of the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District Police Department, who also addressed reporters. In American schools, those grades are typically made up of children ranging from 7 to 10 years of age.
(FRANCE 24 with REUTERS)
Investigators believe Ramos shot and killed his grandmother before going to the school, CBS News reported, citing unidentified law enforcement sources.
"It is being reported that the subject shot his grandmother right before he went into the school," Abbott told reporters. "I have no further information about the connection between those two shootings."
University Hospital in San Antonio said on Twitter it had received two patients from the shooting in Uvalde, a 66-year-old woman and a 10-year-old girl, both listed in critical condition.
U.S. President Joe Biden, who ordered flags flown at half-staff until sunset daily until May 28 in observance of the tragedy, planned to address the nation about the shooting at 8:15 p.m. EDT, the White House said.
The student body at the school consists of children in the second, third and fourth grades, according to Pete Arredondo, chief of the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District Police Department, who also addressed reporters. In American schools, those grades are typically made up of children ranging from 7 to 10 years of age.
(FRANCE 24 with REUTERS)
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