19 children, two teachers killed in US school shooting

A teenager identified as Salvador Ramos has murdered at least 19 children and two teachers in an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, US.

The incident adds to the series of mass shootings in public places, including schools, in the United States.

Ramos was said to have shot at his own grandmother, after which he fled the scene and crashed his car near Robb Elementary School, where he opened fire on students.

According to Reuters, the suspect was later gunned down by a police officer.

Greg Abbott, governor of Texas, described the attack as “horrific” and “incomprehensible”.

Commenting on the incident, US President Joe Biden urged Americans to pressure their lawmakers to enact gun control laws.

Biden sympathised with the parents who lost their children, adding that he is “sick and tired” of mass shootings in the US.

“As a nation, we have to ask when in God’s name we’re going to stand up to the gun lobby, when in God’s name we do what we all know in our gut needs to be done,” Biden said.

“I am sick and tired of it. Tonight, there are parents who will never see their child again.

“Parents who will never be the same. To lose a child is to have a piece of your soul ripped away forever. I ask the nation to pray for them — to give them strength in the darkness.”

Vice President Kamala Harris noted that “our hearts keep getting broken” in reference to the spate of public shootings in the US.

“We have to have the courage to take action to ensure something like this never happens again,” she added.