Texas shooting: Governor Abbott issues disaster declaration for Uvalde as funeral services begin

It’s not hard to understand why police stood around outside, nor why they reacted with anger and force to people urging them to confront the shooter, writes Noah Berlatsky for The Independent.

The shooter had a semi-automatic weapon; he was very dangerous, and anyone confronting him was likely to die.

Republicans continue to insist that we embrace a Hollywood vision of gun violence by arming more law enforcement in hopes that some John McClane or Batman will foil the next gunman. Everything that actually happened in Uvalde shows how misguided that is.

Arkansas’s Republican governor Asa Hutchinson has become the latest figure to signal their support for new restrictions on purchasing semi-automatic rifles following Uvalde.

Authorities say Uvalde shooter Salvador Ramos legally bought two guns not long before the 24 May shooting because he had just turned 18-years-old.

Under federal law in the US, an 18-year-old can legally purchase weapons – even those such as the military-style semi-automatic AR-style rifle Ramos used to kill 19 children and two teachers.

“You have to at least have a conversation about that,” said Mr Hutchinson of raising the age limit on buying AR-15s. His comments come despite the Republican being a supporter of the Second Amendment.

A group of senators are currently involved in talks to find common-ground on gun legislation, which could include new laws limiting sales of semi-automatic guns.

The meeting between US President Joe Biden and New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern presented the White House with another opportunity to talk-up gun control efforts on Tuesday.

Mr Biden praised his counterpart for her success in curbing gun violence and domestic extremism during the long-planned meeting, and said he would  “meet with the Congress on guns, I promise you”.

Whether or not US lawmakers can be won-over by New Zealand’s prime minister on gun control remains to be seen however.

She successfully won a passage of gun control measures in her country after a white supremacist gunman killed 51 Muslim worshippers at two Christchurch mosques in 2019.

As the Associated Presss reported, that law banned military-style semi automatic weapons – not dissimilar to the AR-1 gun used by Uvalde, Texas, shooter Salvador Ramos.

Three people remain hospitalised after they were injured by Uvalde gunman Salvador Ramos, CNN reported on Wednesday.

They are the gunman’s 66-year-old grandmother, Celia “Sally” Gonzales, a nine-year-old girl and a 10-year-old girl. Both children were not named.

The University Hospital San Antonio said while Ms Gonzales and the nine-year-old were in a good condition on Tuesday, the 10-year-old is a serious condition.

Police in Florida have come under fire for their response to an incident in which a student allegedly threatened a mass shooting at an elementary school in the state.

The Lee County Sheriff’s Office said at the weekend that a fifth-grader was interviewed and arrested in connection with a threatening text message about a school in Cape Coral.

The incident came just days after 18-year-old Salvador Ramos went on a shooting spree, killing 19 children and two teachers at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, on 24 May.

“Fake threats come with real consequences,” said congressman Byron Donalds of the arrest. “I applaud the dedicated professionals of the Lee County Sheriff’s Office for taking action and providing peace of mind to our community”.

As Rachel Sharp reports, many others expressed their concern at bringing the named child “a lifetime of shame” however:

A video has emerged from last Tuesday’s shooting at Robb Elementary School in which a student told law enforcement he had been hit.

The video, which appears to be shot from the outside the school, captured the radio communications playing nearby and was handed to CNN by an anonymous individual.

An adult voice can be heard asking “are you injured?” A child responds “I got shot.”

As Graig Graziosi reports, the condition of that child remains unknown more than a week after the attack, which killed 19 children and two adults:

An Uvalde teacher did not leave a door propped open that allowed the gunman to enter Robb Elementary School, her lawyer has said, despite claims to the contrary from Texas law enforcement.

Don Flanary told The San Antonio News that the teacher had initially propped the door open to get food from a car, but actually closed it shut after realising the heavily armed gunman was heading towards the school.

Last week Colonel Steve McCraw, director of the Texas Department of Public Safety, told a news conference that a door to the school was left ajar by the teacher who ran outside when she heard Salvador Ramos crash his truck.

As Graeme Massie writes, the claims are another detail likely to raise questions about the police response: