More Texas School Shooting Victims Have Died & It's Now The Worst Since Sandy Hook

Several people injured in Tuesday's mass shooting at Robb Elementary School have died of their injuries, pushing the death toll in Uvalde, Texas close to what happened 10 years ago in Newtown, Connecticut.

A gunman walked into the school and shot over 20 people on Tuesday before a Border Patrol agent shot him and stopped the rampage, reported The Associated Press.

A total of 19 children and two adults have died as of Wednesday morning, officials said. That's just behind the death toll in 2012 Sandy Hook shooting in Newtown, where 20 children and six adults were killed.

During a press conference, police chief Pete Arredondo said that “at approximately 11:32 a.m., there was a mass casualty at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. This school has children that are in second, third and fourth grade.”

The school where the attack occurred is located in the heavily Latino town of Uvalde.

It's still unclear how many people have been injured in total, but Arredondo confirmed that there have been “several injuries in adults and children.”

“The suspect is deceased,” and the current investigation suggests that “the suspect did act alone during this heinous crime,” said Arredondo.

According to CNN, this shooting is at least the 30th shooting at a K-12 school in the U.S. in 2022.

Families of student and staff members waited hours to hear news about their loved ones.

A 69-year-old air conditioning repairman, Adolfo Cruz, was still waiting outside the school at sunset to hear a word on his 10-year-old great-granddaughter, Eliajha Cruz Torres.

“I hope she’s alive,” said Cruz.

One of the attack victims was 10-year-old Xavier Lopez, who had received an honour roll certificate hours before his death, reported The Washington Post.

Lopez was due to graduate from elementary school and start middle school this year.

“He was funny, never serious, and his smile,” said Lopez’s mother, Felicia Martinez. “That smile I will never forget. It would always cheer anyone up.”

The father of another 10-year-old victim, Amerie Jo Garza, pleaded on Facebook for help with finding his daughter in the hours after the attack.

He posted a heartbreaking update hours later, saying that “she’s been found.”

“My little love is now flying high with the angels above. Please don’t take a second for granted. Hug your family. Tell them you love them,” said his post. “I love you, Amerie Jo. Watch over your baby brother for me.”

U.S. President Joe Biden promised to fight for stricter gun restrictions in a speech addressing the attack.

“As a nation, we have to ask, when in God’s name are we going to stand up to the gun lobby?” asked Biden. “When in God’s name are we going to do what has to be done? Why are we willing to live with this carnage?”

The attack occurred on a day when students came dressed up for a “Footloose and Fancy” theme day.

According to state Sen. Roland Gutierrez, the assailant allegedly hinted that the attack was coming on his social media days before the shooting.

Apparently, the gunman warned that he had two “assault weapons” and “suggested the kids should watch out.” He even posted pictures of the weapons he used during the attack on Instagram, Gutierrez said.

The gunman also shot his grandmother before the attack, Gutierrez said. She survived and was treated for her injuries.