The 18-year-old that shot and killed 19 people in the deadliest school shooting in Texas history bought the firearms he used a few days before the horrific incident. The gunman, identified as Uvalde High School student Salvador Ramos, bought two AR-style rifles after his 18th birthday.
Ramos assaulted the Robb Elementary School in Uvalde and opened fire on students and teachers. At least 19 children and two teachers were killed. Authorities said Ramos had killed his grandmother before we went on a rampage.
Two days before the shooting, Ramos reportedly bought the rifles and 375 rounds of 5.56-caliber ammunition at a federally licensed gun store. Anyone above 18 years old is legally allowed to buy guns in Texas. Those who have guns also do not need to go through the FBI National Instant Criminal Background Check to openly carry in public.
Ramos was killed in a firefight with a Border Patrol team. The horrific incident lasted for more than 40 minutes and ended when he was put down. He reportedly crashed his truck near the school, then shot and murdered 19 children and two adults inside. Several students and staff were reportedly injured.
According to a press briefing, Ramos only took one of the firearms into the primary school, one made by the Georgia-based armaments firm Daniel Defense. The other was abandoned in the truck in which he had wrecked nearby.
According to initial accounts, the suspect was allegedly being pursued by the Uvalde Police Department before crashing and entering the school. Officials clarified that the initial calls to the police department were from people reporting a crash outside the school and witnesses saying they saw a man with a pistol exit the car.
For years, gun control groups and Democrats have unsuccessfully lobbied for magazine restrictions and expanded background checks, noting the high death tolls in mass shootings from Fort Hood to Sutherland Springs.
On Wednesday afternoon, President Joe Biden announced that he would be flying to Texas in the coming days. He called for legislation to address the growing gun control issue, but Democrats are skeptical after Republicans thwarted most significant initiatives to handle mass shootings during the previous decade.
Biden said it was “just outrageous” that an 18-year-old could walk into any gun store and buy weapons of war developed and sold for the purpose of killing other people.
Everytown for Gun Safety, a group working to decrease gun violence, said high-capacity magazines are regulated in nine states and Washington, D.C. The group said those states have considerably fewer mass shootings than places like Texas, which do not control magazine capacity.
The gunman in Texas left a rucksack at the school entrance with multiple magazines full of ammo. At least seven 30-round magazines were discovered by authorities.