An 18-year-old shot his grandmother, then made his way to an elementary school where he shot and killed 19 students and two teachers on Tuesday in Uvalde, Texas.
The gunman, Salvador Ramos, was shot and killed at the school after he barricaded himself in a classroom at Robb Elementary School.
While the investigation is in its early stages, here is what we know about the events that happened at the school Tuesday.
May 17: The suspect in the Robb Elementary School shooting legally purchased a rifle on May 17 and another one on May 22, two days before the massacre and six days after his 18th birthday. In briefings, the weapons were described as “AR platform rifles.”
May 18: The next day, Ramos purchased 18 magazines that contained 375 rounds of ammunition. Seven 30-round magazines were found inside the school. The suspected shooter dropped some of the ammunition at the door of the school, according to a state senator who was briefed by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
One of the rifles was left in the wrecked truck. The other rifle, referred to in the briefing as “a Daniel Defense,” was found in the school with the gunman
11:27 a.m.: An exterior door on the west side of the building is propped open by a teacher.
Sometime before 11:28 a.m.: He posted on Facebook that he intended to shoot his grandmother. A second post said he had shot his grandmother. A third post said he was going to shoot up an elementary school.
Ramos shot his grandmother in the face and critically wounded her. According to authorities, Ramos lived with his grandmother.
Andy Stone, a spokesman for Meta, disputed the governor’s description of Facebook posts made by the gunman, the New York Times is reporting. “The messages Gov. Abbott described were private one-to-one text messages that were discovered after the terrible tragedy occurred,” he wrote on Twitter.
11:28 a.m.: After shooting his grandmother, Ramos took off in her truck and after driving at high speed, he crashed into a barrier outside the elementary school. The truck ended up wrecked in a ditch at the school.
Two workers at a mortuary near the school heard the crash and came out to investigate. Ramos fired shots at them, then moved off toward the school, jumped a fence and began firing shots at the building.
Contrary to what was said earlier in the week, Ramos was not confronted by a resource officer before he entered the building. He was outside of the building for 12 minutes.
Salvador Ramos, 18, began his rampage when he shot his grandmother, then crashed his car while fleeing near Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas 2/6 pic.twitter.com/lIQ1hCDnfK
— Reuters (@Reuters) May 25, 2022
11:32 a.m.: Police begin to receive reports of a shooting at the school.
11:33 a.m.: According to Sgt. Erick Estrada from the Texas Department of Public Safety, the shooter, armed with a rifle, entered a back door at the school. The door was propped open to go outside to get a cellphone. Ramos, wearing body armor, moved down a hallway to a classroom where he barricaded himself in. Authorities say that the victims of the shooting were in that one classroom.
11:35 a.m.: Uvalde police and police with the school district “are inside, making entry” when they hear gunfire. Two of the first three officers at the door of the classroom are grazed with bullets. The seven officers move back and take cover. They call for help and try to negotiate with Ramos. He did not respond, according to officials.
11:37 a.m.: Another 16 rounds are fired inside the classroom.
11:43 a.m.: The school announced on social media that it is on lockdown because of “gunshots in the area.”
“All campuses are under a Lockdown Status
Uvalde CISD Parents:
Please know at this time all campuses are under a Lockdown Status due to gunshots in the area. The students and staff are safe in the buildings. The buildings are secure in a Lockdown Status. Your cooperation is needed at this time by not visiting the campus. As soon as the Lockdown Status is lifted you will be notified.
Thank you for your cooperation!”
11:51 a.m.: Police and and an elite team of U.S. Border Patrol agents arrived.
11:54 a.m.: Parents have come to the school and at this time they are yelling at police to go in the school or let them go into the school.
Noon: Children are seen running from the school.
12:03 a.m.: There are 19 officers in the hallway of the school.
12:17 p.m.: The school posted messages on social media saying, “There is an active shooter at Robb Elementary. Law enforcement is on site. Your cooperation is needed at this time by not visiting the campus. As soon as more information is gathered it will be shared. The rest of the district is under a Secure Status. "
After hearing gunshots, law enforcement officers and teachers “began breaking windows around the school” to try to evacuate those inside.
According to Texas Department of Public Safety Lt. Chris Olivarez, the gunman fired several hundred rounds while he was in the building.
12:21 p.m.: Ramos fired more shots, apparently at the door. Law enforcement and Border agents move toward the classroom, but will not go into the room until around 30 minutes later.
12:23 p.m.: Authorities announced that a reunification site has been set up at the SSGT Willie De Leon Civic Center in Uvalde. Parents are told to go there to pick up their children.
12:50 p.m.: Officers get a set of keys from a janitor and unlock the classroom door. They shoot and kill Ramos.
1:06 p.m.: The suspect is reported to be in custody, but actually, Ramos had been shot and killed by a U.S. Border Protection agent, a senior Department of Homeland Security official told USA Today on Tuesday night.
The DHS official who spoke to USA Today said the agent was shot in the foot or lower leg when confronting the gunman. He was treated at a local hospital for his injuries.
The attack on the school ended around 90 minutes after it began, officials said Thursday, when a Border Patrol tactical enforcement team arrived at the school and forcibly entered the room where Ramos was.
“They were met with gunfire as well, but they were able to shoot and kill that suspect,” Lt. Olivarez said.
2:47 p.m.: Uvalde Memorial Hospital posted an update on Facebook that said it has “received 13 children via ambulance or buses for treatment. Two children have been transferred to San Antonio and one child is pending transfer. Two individuals that arrived at UMH were deceased. No details are available. Please refrain from coming to the hospital at this time.”
According to its website, the hospital “UMH has the ability to serve 25 inpatients and additional outpatients.”
3 p.m.: The suspected shooter is identified by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott in a press conference. According to Abbot, as of 3 p.m. there were 14 students and one teacher confirmed dead. Two officers who responded to the mass shooting were hit by gunfire, he said, adding their injuries were not considered life-threatening.
3:15 p.m.: According to government officials, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas had been briefed on the shooting.
4:16 p.m.: White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre confirmed that President Joe Biden has been briefed on the shooting.
President Biden has been briefed on the horrific news of the elementary school shooting in Texas and will continue to be briefed regularly as information becomes available.
— Karine Jean-Pierre (@PressSec) May 24, 2022
4:17 p.m.: Uvalde police confirmed the suspected gunman is dead and that he is believed to have acted alone.
5:45 p.m.: Biden speaks with Gov. Abbott to “offer any and all assistance he needs,” according to White House Communications Director Kate Bedingfield.
President Biden just spoke with Governor Abbott to offer any and all assistance he needs in the wake of the horrific shooting in Uvalde, TX. pic.twitter.com/u3yMHFtcJJ
— Kate Bedingfield (@WHCommsDir) May 24, 2022
6:25 p.m.: Texas DPS announces the number of children killed in the massacre has risen to 18.
7:12 p.m.: Lt. Olivarez with Texas DPS says the suspect used a long rifle in the shooting.
7:43 p.m.: Biden goes on television to address the nation: “There are parents who will never see their child again. … To lose a child is like having a piece of your soul ripped away. There’s a hollowness in your chest, and you feel like you’re being sucked into it and never going to be able to get out. It’s suffocating. And it’s never quite the same.”
He pivots to calling for action on gun control. “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?”
9:30 p.m.: The AP reports that 19 children and two adults were killed in the shooting. The names of the teachers killed — Eva Mireles, who taught fourth grade, had been an educator for 17 years, and Irma Garcia taught at the school for 23 years — were released.
Though the evening: Parents told reporters they have had to go inside the family reunification center to get a DNA swab to confirm their relationship with their children. They were told to wait at the center for news of their children. Some parents had been waiting at the center since early afternoon.
This timeline will be updated as more information becomes available.
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