Texas shooting: 19 children among dead in primary school attack
The gunman opened fire at Robb Elementary School - which teaches children aged seven to 10 - in the city of Uvalde before he was killed by law enforcement, officials said.
The 18-year-old suspect had a handgun, an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle and high-capacity magazines, investigators say.
The teenager is suspected of shooting his grandmother before the rampage.
Local media report he may have been a high school student in the area.SUSPECT INFO: New details obtained about 18-year-old shooter who officials say killed 19 students, 2 adults at Texas elementary schoolOthers were asked to give DNA samples to help identify some of the young victims.
Imagine having to line up to give DNA samples so that the authorities can identify if your kid has been shot in the face by an 18 year old that bought guns and ample ammunition legally.The source reports that according to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the suspect legally purchased two AR platform rifles at a local federal firearms licensee on two separate dates: May 17, 2022, and May 20, 2022. One of the rifles he had purchased was left in the crashed truck. The other rifle (a Daniel Defense) was located in the school with the suspect.
On May 18, 2022, the suspect reportedly purchased 375 rounds of 5.56 ammunition.
This was the 27th school shooting in USA with injuries or deaths this year. It's a mental health and gun problem. Meanwhile, the House passed a bill in 2019 to expand background checks which has been sitting against the Senate since then. Yet, the issue runs deeper as per Firearms Protection Act, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF), which handles the background checks, is not allowed to create a registry for gun owners.
We do not know yet whether a background check would flag the 18 year old as unstable and reject gun sales to him at this point, but the political landscape being so divisive against such a basic and fundamental gun control measure it is naive to expect any meaningful measure be made against such a problem. It leaves parents to wonder if their kids are next against bad to non-existent mental health measures and easy access to guns for everyone.
Discuss.