Texas school shooting latest news: Joe Biden urges Americans to ‘stand up to gun lobby’

• 19 children, two adults - including one teacher - dead at Ross Elementary School in Uvalde

• Children aged between seven and 10

• One of worst school shootings in US history

• Full report and what we know so far

• Killer's haunting Instagram message hours before deadly shooting

President Biden has urged Americans to stand up to the gun lobby after 19 children and two adults, including one teacher, were killed on Tuesday in the latest school shooting in the United States.

A teenage gunman entered Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, on Tuesday with an assault rifle and a handgun and opened fire on primary school children.

Speaking from the White House, an emotional and angry Mr Biden said: “I hoped when I became president I would not have to do this, again.

“As a nation, we have to ask: ‘When in God's name are we going to stand up to the gun lobby?’”

Police in Uvalde said the shooter, 18-year-old Salvador Ramos – who is reported to have bought two assault rifles on his birthday — was killed by responding officers.

He was reportedly a student at a nearby high school.

Ramos engaged in a firefight with Texas border patrol officers before running into the school and barricading himself inside.

CNN reported that before entering the school Ramos also shot and injured his grandmother.

Here's how events unfolded overnight:

06:58 AM

Texas shooting latest – here's what we know

• Nineteen children and two adults, including one teacher, were killed after a teenage gunman opened fire in a primary school in rural Texas

• The 18-year-old shooter, Salvador Ramos, entered Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, about 85 miles west of San Antonio, on Tuesday morning with a handgun and a rifle

• Students were brought to two local hospitals for treatment, but were reported to be dead on arrival

• Joe Biden issued a new rallying cry for gun control in a televised address to the nation following the massacre of 19 primary school children and two adults in Texas

• The President was visibly angry as he spoke at the White House. He was told about the latest shooting on Air Force One as he returned from a five-day trip to Asia

05:44 AM

Matthew McConaughey calls shootings 'an epidemic we can control'

American actor Matthew McConaughey said the country's spate of mass shootings  is "an epidemic we can control" as he led tributes to the victims of the atrocity in his Texas hometown.

"As you all are aware there was another mass shooting today, this time in my home town of Uvalde, Texas," he said in a statement online.

"Once again, we have tragically proven that we are failing to be responsible for the rights our freedoms grant us.

"This is an epidemic we can control, and whichever side of the aisle we may stand on, we all know we can do better.

"We must do better."

05:41 AM

Fourth grade student among shooting victims

Uziyah Garcia, who was in fourth grade, was also killed in the fatal shooting.

05:29 AM

First child killed in shooting massacre named

One of the children killed in the Texas shooting tragedy has been named as 10-year-old Xavier Lopez.

A fundraiser has been created by his family with a "heavy heart and deep sadness".

His cousin said the fundraiser would help to raise money for funeral expenses.

"Her son was tragically taken along with so many other precious angels today in Uvalde, but we as family, know he is now with his Grandpa Benny in the Kingdom of Heaven," the post on the fundraiser read.

03:00 AM

Concern for 10-year-old girl missing

A Texas father said his 10-year-old daughter, Annabelle Guadalupe Rodriguez, is missing following the deadly school shooting, where she attends as a student.

02:31 AM

Obama 'angry' for grieving families: 'It's long past time for action'

Former US President Barack Obama has paid tribute to the grieving families of the children and people killed in the Texas school shooting.

"Michelle and I grieve with the families in Uvalde, who are experiencing pain no one should have to bear," he said in a statement.

Mr Obama said they were also "angry" for the heartbroken families, adding action on gun control was long overdue.

"Nearly ten years after Sandy Hook—and ten days after Buffalo—our country is paralyzed, not by fear, but by a gun lobby and a political party that have shown no willingness to act in any way that might help prevent these tragedies," he said.

"It’s long past time for action, any kind of action. And it’s another tragedy—a quieter but no less tragic one—for families to wait another day."

02:22 AM

Death toll rises to 19 children, two adults

State police confirmed the death toll of the shooting tragedy has climbed to 19 children and two adults, including one teacher.

02:00 AM

Teacher named by local media

The teacher killed in Tuesday's mass shooting in Uvalde has been named by local media as Eva Mireles.

According to KSAT-TV, Ms Mireles taught the fourth grade (ages nine to 10) at Robb Elementary.

01:55 AM

School superintendent: My heart is broken

The superintendent of the Texas elementary school where an 18-year-old gunman shot and killed 18 children said his heart is broken.

Hal Harrell, superintendent of the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District, said Tuesday that Robb Elementary School will be closed and all school activities will be cancelled until further notice. Mr Harrell also said grief counselors would be available to students and families.

"My heart is broken today," Mr Harrell said. "We're a small community and we're going to need your prayers to get through this."

01:02 AM

Joe Biden asks 'Why do we keep letting this happen?'

Mr Biden said: "These kinds of mass shootings rarely happen anywhere else in the world. Why?

"They have mental health problems, they have disputes, they have people who are lost.

"Why are we willing to live with this carnage? Why do we keep letting this happen? Where in God's name is our backbone? It's time to turn this pain into action. It's time to act. Most Americans support common sense gun laws."

12:58 AM

Joe Biden calls for action over 'sick' gun violence

Mr Biden said young schoolchildren had died "as if they're on a battlefield for God's sake."

He said: "To lose a child is like a piece of your soul is ripped away. There's a hollowness in your chest. You feel like you're being sucked into it. It's never quite the same.

"When in God's name will we do what we know in our gut needs to be done?"

Mr Biden said he had spoken at sandy Hook nearly 10 years ago.

"Since then there have been over 900 incidents of gunfire on school grounds. I am sick and tired of it. We have to act.

"Don't tell me we can't have an impact on this carnage.

"The idea an 18-year-old kid can walk into a gun store and buy two assault weapons is just wrong. It's just sick."

12:53 AM

Joe Biden: 'Maye God bless the loss of innocent life on this sad day'

The US President was visibly emotional and angry as he spoke at the White House.

He said: "May God bless the loss of innocent life on this sad day.

"And may the Lord be near the broken hearted, and save those crushed in spirit because they're going to need a lot of help and a lot of our prayers."

12:41 AM

Joe Biden has arrived back from Asia

12:17 AM

Gunman was wearing body armour

Sergeant Erick Estrada told CNN the killer's vehicle was involved in an "epic crash" near the school.

He was then seen getting out of the vehicle, carrying a rifle and wearing body armour.

He entered the south door of the school and started firing.

12:07 AM

Pictures have emerged of the gunman Salvador Ramos

11:52 PM

Officials confirm new death toll

Officials in Texas said the death total had risen to 18 children and one adult, plus the gunman.

11:30 PM

Kamala Harris reacts

Vice President Kamala Harris said "enough is enough"

She said: "Our hearts break. But our hearts keep getting broken...and our broken hearts are nothing compared to the broken hearts of those families.

"We have to have the courage to take action to ensure something like this never happens again."

11:19 PM

Shooter bought assault rifles on his 18th birthday

Mr Gutierrez said:  "He bought two assault rifles from a dealer on his 18th birthday.

"It was the first thing he did when he turned 18."

11:18 PM

Gunman shot his grandmother

The gunman shot his grandmother first, Mr Gutierrez said

He fled that scene and was in a car wreck before running into the school and causing "carnage".

The grandmother was "clinging on" in hospital.

11:16 PM

Death toll has reportedly risen to 18 children

Roland Gutierrez, a Texas state senator, told CNN the death toll has risen to 18 children.

Mr Gutierrez said he had been briefed by Texas Rangers.

11:15 PM

'Another Sandy Hook'

In the US Senate,, Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut, said:  "Fourteen kids dead in an elementary school in Texas right now. What are we doing, what are we doing?

"Just days after a shooter walked into a grocery store to gun down African-American patrons, we have another Sandy Hook on our hands. What are we doing?"

He added: "As the kids run for their lives we doing nothing.  This isn't inevitable. These kids weren't unlucky. This only happens in this country and nowhere else.

"I am here on this floor to beg, to literally get down on my hands and knees and beg my colleagues - find a path forward here. Pass laws that make this less likely."

11:08 PM

Hillary Clinton says US has become a nation of 'anguished screams'

11:04 PM

One of America's worst school shootings

The shooting in Texas is one of the deadliest ever at a US school.

In December 2012 a gunman killed 26 people, including 20 children from five- to 10-years old, in a rampage at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut.

In 2018, a former student at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, killed 17 students and staff.

The Texas rampage was the latest in a series of mass shootings in US schools that have shocked the world and fueled a fierce debate between advocates of tighter gun controls, and those who oppose any legislation that could compromise the constitutional right of Americans to bear arms.

10:58 PM

Joe Biden speaking to the Texas Governor from Air Force One

10:48 PM

More pictures from the scene

10:39 PM

Texas in mourning

More from Greg Abbott, the Texas governor.

He said: "When parents drop their kids off at school, they have every expectation to know that they're going to be able to pick their child up when that school day ends.

"And there are families who are in mourning right now, the state of Texas is in mourning with them, for the reality that these parents are not going to be able to pick up their children."

10:19 PM

Arming teachers would stop future attacks, says Texas attorney-general

Ken Paxton, Texas' attorney-general, has claimed in response to the shooting in Uvalde that arming teachers could keep children safe in the future.

Mr Paxton, a Republican, told conservative news network Newsmax that "having potentially teachers and other administrators be armed" could prevent future attacks.

He said: "First responders typically can't get there in time to prevent a shooting. It's just not possible unless you have a police officer on every campus.

"I think you're going to have to do more at the school."

10:03 PM

Guns deaths up since Biden took office

The US saw nearly 20,000 firearms homicides in 2020.

The number increased by more than 50 per cent from 2020 to 2021, according to a recent FBI report.

The report, titled "Active Shooter Incidents in the United States in 2021," says there were 61 mass shooting incidents” in the US in 2021, representing a nearly 100 per cent rise in such attacks from 2017, which saw 31.

Over the past five years, active shooter incidents have steadily increased, with the most recent 10 days ago in Buffalo, New York, where a white gunman opened fire on black supermarket shoppers in a racially motivated attack.

09:56 PM

White House: Biden due to speak soon

The White House press secretary says President Biden will speak about the shooting later this evening.

Mr Biden has ordered all flags at federal buildings to fly at half-mast.

09:52 PM

Watch: Texas governor confirms 15 dead

09:45 PM

In pictures: School's pupils take shelter in local centre

09:37 PM

Uvalde a town of mostly Hispanic and Mexican residents

The Uvalde primary school, which has 600 students enrolled, is located 60 miles east of the Mexican border.

Uvalde is a town of some 16,000 mostly Hispanic and Mexican residents with a low crime rate.

09:29 PM

Gunman named

Greg Abbott, Texas' governor, has named the suspect as Salvador Ramos, 18.

Mr Abbott told reporters that Ramos abandoned his vehicle and entered the school armed with a pistol and rifle.

Ramos is understood to have been shot dead by police.

09:22 PM

What we know so far

• A gunman has killed 14 children and a teacher at a primary school in Texas on Tuesday

• The shooter was shot and killed by police, according to local media

• The suspect, named as Salvador Ramos, 18, entered Ross Elementary School in Uvalde armed with a rifle and a handgun, according to Texas' governor

• Greg Abbott, the governor, told reporters that Ramos also shot his grandmother

• It is the fifth-worst school shooting in US history