May 26 Texas shooting news

The Texas elementary school shooter also fired at witnesses across the street from his vehicle before heading to the Robb Elementary campus in Uvalde, Texas, according to Victor Escalon, South Texas regional director for the Department of Public Safety.

"He walks around, he sees two witnesses at the funeral home across the street from where he wrecked [his vehicle]. He engages and fires towards them. He continues walking towards the school. He climbs a fence. Now he's in the parking lot, shooting at the school. Multiple times," he added.

At 11:40 a.m. local time, the shooter walked into the west side of Robb Elementary School and shot multiple rounds, Escalon continued.

The Texas Department of Public Safety official said the gunman was not confronted by a school resource officer outside the school, and apparently entered an unlocked door. The same law enforcement agency previously said an officer had "engaged" him.

"Four minutes later, local police departments, Uvalde Police Department, the Independent School District Police Department are inside, making entry. They hear gunfire, they take rounds, they move back, get cover. And during that time, they approach where the suspect is at," Escalon explained.

“According to the information I have, he went in at 11:40, he walks approximate 20 feet, 30 feet, he makes a right and walks into the hallway, he makes a right, walks another 20 feet, turns left into a schoolroom – into a classroom and that has doors opened in the middle,” Escalon says.

These officers were not able to make entry initially, Escalon said, "because of the gunfire they're receiving." They called for backup and additional resources, while the evacuation of children and teachers in other classrooms was underway, he added.

A Zavala county deputy and members of the Uvalde Police Department also made entry into the classroom, Escalon said, and also shot the suspect.

The scene of the shooting then immediately turned into a "rescue operation," Escalon said.

"How do we save these children? Some made it out — we don't have a hard number yet but that was our goal," he said.

The gunman who killed 19 children and two teachers in Robb Elementary School was not confronted by a school resource officer, according to Victor Escalon, South Texas regional director for the Department of Public Safety.

He said he "wanted to clear that up" amid reports to the contrary.

Escalon also said the school also appeared to be unlocked when the gunman entered.

"We will find out as much as we can why it was unlocked — or maybe it was locked. But right now, it appears it was unlocked," he said.

Victor Escalon, South Texas regional director for the Department of Public Safety, said "we're still grabbing a lot of information" regarding the deadly school shooting in Uvalde.

"We're going to find out. With all the different agencies that are involved, we're working every angle that's available. We won't stop until we get all the answers that we possibly can," he said during a news conference.

Escalon also said the investigation is focusing on the shooter's motive as well.

Recreating the crime scene "takes days — that takes hours, that takes time, a lot of information," he said.

He said his department "cannot do it alone," thanking Texas Rangers, state, federal and local authorities.

"Thank you for being here and being patient with us," he said.

Law enforcement in Uvalde, Texas, are holding a briefing to share updates on the Tuesday mass shooting at Robb Elementary School that killed 19 children and two adults.

At least three musicians who were set to sing in a concert at this weekend’s annual convention of the National Rifle Association in Houston have canceled their performances after Tuesday's mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde.

“In light of the recent events in Texas, I have decided it would be disrespectful and hurtful for me to perform for the NRA at their convention in Houston this week. I’m sure all the folks planning to attend this event are shocked and sickened by these events as well. After all, we are all Americans,” said Don McLean in a statement to CNN. “I share the sorrow for this terrible, cruel loss with the rest of the nation.” McLean is best known for the 1970s hits “American Pie” and “Vincent.”

Larry Gatlin of the Gatlin Brothers fame is also canceling, telling CNN in part, “I cannot, in good conscience, perform at the NRA convention in Houston this weekend.”

Larry Stewart, who contributed lead vocals in the band Restless Heart, has also opted to cancel, saying, “I want to honor the victims, families, the town and our friends in the great state of Texas the best I know how.”  

CNN has reached out to other musicians slated to perform, including Danielle Peck, T. Graham Brown, Jacob Bryant, and Lee Greenwood, known for the Fourth of July favorite “God Bless the U.S.A.”

The conditions of the six hospitalized victims of Tuesday's shooting at Robb Elementary School have remained the same, according to hospital officials. 

A 10-year-old girl and a 66-year-old woman — whom police have identified to CNN as the grandmother of the gunman — remain in serious condition, according to a tweet from University Health in San Antonio.

Two other victims, 10-year-old and 9-year-old girls, were both listed in good condition as of Thursday morning.

Robert Whetstone, a spokesperson for Brooke Army Medical Center, told CNN that the two adult patients in their care are both listed in serious condition. 

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell told CNN he met this morning with GOP Texas Sen. John Cornyn after Cornyn returned from Texas, and encouraged the senator to begin discussions with Democrats to see if they can find a middle ground on some legislation to respond to the shooting in Texas.

The Democrats include Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut and Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona

McConnell would not say specifically what the contours of that legislation should be, instead signaling he wants Cornyn to be the one to negotiate.

Earlier Thursday, Senate Republicans blocked a bill designed to combat domestic terrorism from advancing in a key vote. The vote comes as lawmakers are under intense pressure to take action in the wake of multiple recent episodes of horrific gun violence.

The bill passed the Democratic-controlled House last week following a tragic mass shooting at a supermarket in a predominately Black neighborhood in Buffalo, New York. But Republicans have pushed back against the measure put forward by Democrats, describing it as partisan and unnecessary.

Read more here.

An additional 10 bodies of school shooting victims were released to funeral homes on Thursday, bringing the total number to 19, according to Judge Lalo Diaz, Uvalde County justice of the peace. 

Nine victims were released on Wednesday evening, CNN previously reported. 

Diaz told CNN that the bodies of the remaining two victims will be released later this afternoon. 

The Uvalde school district where 19 children and two teachers were killed by a gunman this week had a safety plan that included its own police force, social media monitoring and a threat reporting system to “provide a safe and secure environment” for students. 

The two-page document on the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District website lists 21 different measures that it says it has undertaken for the safety of the school community, ranging from an app for reporting bullying to physical security measures, like fencing and a buzz-in door system. It’s not clear to what degree the plan was developed with active shooters in mind.

Texas Department of Public Safety spokesperson Chris Olivarez on Thursday said the gunman, identified as Salvador Ramos, gained access to the school through an unlocked door.

Records show the district spent about $200,000 on security and monitoring services in 2017-18 and that figure rose to more than $450,000 in the 2019-20 school year.

The district employed four police officers, including a chief, detective, and two officers. The school district also had additional security staff “who patrol door entrances, parking lots and perimeters of the campuses.”

The plan included a “threat reporting system” for “students, parents, staff, and community members” to share information that is deemed “troubling,” which could include information about weapons, threats, fights, drugs, self- harm, suicide or disclosures made that are concerning.” The policy states reports could be made through the district site or to a district staff member.

The district also employed a company called Social Sentinel to monitor social media “with a connection to Uvalde as a measure to identify any possible threats that might be made against students and or staff within the school district.” 

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said the gunman wrote about his intentions on Facebook, including “I’m going to shoot an elementary school.” A spokesperson for Meta, Facebook’s parent company, said the gunman’s private one-to-one messages were discovered after the shooting.

Ramos allegedly sent similarly chilling text messages to a girl he met online describing how he had just shot his grandmother and was going to shoot up an elementary school. 

The security plan also refers to lockdown drills. “Students receive training on the Standard Response Protocol for lockout, lockdown, evacuate, shelter, and hold. In addition, drills are held for each of these emergency actions on a regular basis," the plan said.

Two other schools, Uvalde High School and Anthon Elementary, have security vestibules, though it is not clear if Robb had one. The plan lists security cameras at the high school and middle schools, though it’s not clear how many are at the grade school where the shooting happened. “Key staff” were also equipped with radios, but it’s not clear if those were for use within the building or meant to communicate across the district.

The document is undated, but has “19-20” in the file name, possibly a reference to the 2019-2020 school year. 

The Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District has not responded to multiple CNN requests for comment.