Victims in Texas school shooting killed in single classroom, authorities say

The 19 children and two teachers massacred at a South Texas elementary school were in a single fourth-grade classroom where the gunman barricaded himself, authorities said on Wednesday, as the deadliest school shooting in nearly a decade reignited a national debate over America's gun laws.

Police circled Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, breaking windows in an effort to evacuate children and staff, Texas Department of Public Safety spokesperson Chris Olivarez told CNN. Officers eventually breached the classroom and killed the gunman, identified as 18-year-old Salvador Ramos.

Ramos began his rampage by shooting his grandmother at home. He then drove to the nearby school where he crashed his car and entered the building wearing tactical gear and carrying a rifle, authorities said. His grandmother survived but is in critical condition. Investigators hope she can shed light on a motive for the shooting.

Multiple children were also injured, Olivarez told Fox News, though he did not have an exact tally.

The attack, which came 10 days after an avowed white supremacist shot 13 people at a supermarket in a mostly Black neighborhood of Buffalo, prompted President Joe Biden to call for stricter gun safety laws in a prime-time address to the American people.