The drama plunged America back into a chronic nightmare.
An 18-year-old man opened fire at a Texas school on Tuesday, killing 19 young students and two adults.
The perpetrator of the massacre was shot dead by the police.
The motives for this attack, one of the worst in a school for years, remain unknown for the moment.
What happened ?
It was around 11:30 a.m. when gunfire broke out Tuesday at Robb Elementary School in Ulvade, Texas.
An 18-year-old opened fire, killing 19 youths and two adults, according to the latest report.
Videos shared on social networks showed children evacuated in an emergency, shaking hands or running in small groups towards yellow school buses, in front of this establishment with low buildings, typical of the southern United States.
Identified as Salvador Ramos, the alleged shooter died in the drama that affected this town located about 130 kilometers west of San Antonio.
The man was shot by police, according to officials from the Texas Department of Public Safety.
The shooter, of American nationality, would have first targeted his grandmother, whose state of health remained to be specified, before going to school by car to perpetrate his massacre there, indicates the chain CNN.
Who are the victims ?
First portraits of children whose death has been confirmed by the police have been shared on social networks.
The faces of Xavier Lopez (10 years old) of Makenna Elrod and Uziyah Garcia, (10 and 9 years old), all killed in the massacre on Tuesday, also parade on TV channels and in the American press.
"My nephew was the victim of a school shooting today," Uziyah's uncle, Mitch Renfro, posted on Facebook, adding that he "was killed by a madman."
Xavier Lopez, 10. He was a 4th grader at Robb Elementary.
His family confirms he died in today's school shooting.
pic.twitter.com/Qp2JatwZ4O
— Dillon Collier (@dilloncollier) May 25, 2022
The human toll could still change.
Several children were still missing, reports the New York Post.
Among the adult victims is also a 44-year-old teacher named Eva Mirales.
The teacher had worked at the Ulvade school for 17 years, according to the Post, “She was a beautiful person and a dedicated teacher.
There is no word, ”lamented the mother of one of her students on Twitter.
My daughter's beautiful teacher was the teacher who was killed in Uvalde, TX.
Eva (Ms Mireles) taught Gabby in elementary school.
She was a beautiful person & dedicated teacher.
She believed in Gabby & went above & beyond to teach her as you can see below.
There are no words.
pic.twitter.com/qMlVoVEUrY
— Audrey (@audreymg0928) May 24, 2022
Who is the shooter, Salvador Ramos?
Few elements are still known about the shooter who would have acted alone, according to the authorities.
The teenager, 18, has been identified as Salvador Ramos.
This American citizen was wearing a rifle and a paramilitary outfit at the time of the events, said Sergeant Érick Estrada on the CNN channel.
He was a student at the Lycée d'Uvalde.
Before going to school, Salvador Ramos allegedly "shot his grandmother", said Texas Governor Greg Abbott.
She was taken to hospital, her condition was not yet known.
His Instagram account, since deleted by the platform, contained photos showing him facing a mirror, or posing with firearms.
Another Instagram user had been tagged in one of the pictures showing some of her weapons.
Asked, the latter assured not to know Salvador Ramos.
“I have a little secret to tell you,” the young man allegedly wrote to him in private, without going any further.
What are the reactions?
The shooting occurred while Joe Biden was on his way home from his Asia tour.
He spoke in the evening, upon his arrival at the White House.
“As a nation, we must ask ourselves: when, in the name of God, will we stand up to the gun lobby?
When, in the name of God, will we do what must be done?
We must act,” he said.
"Too much is too much," Vice President Kamala Harris got carried away, calling for "action" on the subject of gun violence, a national scourge.
Tonight in Uvalde, Texas, there are parents who lost children.
Families who have lost loved ones.
And many who have been injured.
As a nation, we must have the courage to take action and prevent this from ever happening again.
— Vice President Kamala Harris (@VP) May 25, 2022
"Our hearts continue to be broken," she said.
"We must find the courage to act," she added to the address of Congress, powerless to legislate despite the tragedies.
The White House has also ordered flags to be half-masted in all public buildings to “honor the victims” of Uvalde.
What precedents?
This attack plunged the country back into the throes of school shootings, which are frequently repeated with shocking images of traumatized students, forced to confine themselves to their classrooms before being evacuated by the police.
This tragedy is reminiscent of that of the elementary school in Sandy Hook, Connecticut, where a 20-year-old man killed 26 people, including twenty children aged 6 and 7, before committing suicide.
America was also particularly marked by a shooting at a high school in Parkland, Florida, which killed 17 people, the majority of them teenagers, in 2018.
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This new killing will not fail to revive criticism of the proliferation of firearms in the United States.
A debate that runs practically empty given the lack of hope of adoption by Congress of an ambitious national law on the issue.
