now reporting david muir
good afternoon and we're coming on the
air because of an awful scene playing
out today in texas an active shooter for
a time at an elementary school in uvalde
texas this is about 80 miles outside of
san antonio
there is word potentially multiple
children have been killed this happened
at the robb elementary school in the
uvalde consolidated independence school
district the alleged gunman opening fire
off campus then reportedly running into
the school barricading himself in a
classroom where it's believed the
shooting continued the school on
lockdown
uvalde memorial hospital confirming at
this hour 13 children arriving at the
e.r
that hospital also confirming to abc
news at least two children killed
but sources telling us at this hour this
number could be far worse
i want to bring in investigative
reporter aaron katurski as we look at
aerials coming in from the scene again
rob elementary school
in uvalde texas this is about 80 miles
or so perhaps a little a little longer
the distance but outside san antonio
texas
reports that some have been brought to
san antonio as well
and again one hospital already
confirming two children dead and erin
we're learning from sources at this hour
that this is sadly going to likely be
much worse here it does seem that way
david multiple law enforcement sources
tell abc news that potentially 14 people
have been killed in this shooting at rob
elementary school in uvalde texas
that does include the suspect that we're
told from multiple law enforcement
sources an 18 year old suspected shooter
killed as this shooting scene unfolded
law enforcement sources have been trying
to to nail down specifically the numbers
that they're working with it is still an
active scene as you can see there so
many people gathered round to try and
figure out what happened taping off the
areas that uh that
were the scene of this shooting but
multiple law enforcement sources tell
abc news david that potentially as many
as 14 people including a number of
children have been killed today at the
school
chilling to hear that number
obviously in a time when we've been
reporting on shootings on the rise in
this country erin what more do we know
about the scene as it unfolded initially
reports had come in that the shooting
began off campus then the shooter
reportedly going into that school do we
know anything more about
where the children might have been
targeted whether or not inside the
school or outside before that shooter
made it indoors nothing confirmed david
and law enforcement sources say they are
still trying to piece together exactly
how all of this unfolded they've focused
on the the suspected shooter an 18 year
old who is according to multiple sources
dead there at the scene after some kind
of involvement with law enforcement we
also hear that at least one law
enforcement officer may be among those
shot although the condition is not
exactly clear
how this unfolded whether it took place
inside outside law enforcement sources
say they are still trying to to piece
together but the atf the fbi and a
number of agencies in texas have all
responded to the scene david and of
course you can see significance law
enforcement presence on the scene
already in uvalde texas
outside both austin
and san antonio of course the reason we
bring up san antonio is because there
are reports some have been brought to
san antonio for medical help and again
as i mentioned when we came on the air
uvalde memorial hospital reporting at
least two children dead
and as you heard our investigative
reporter aaron katurski just reported
sources now telling abc news that as
many as 14 people including children
could have been killed here this
afternoon in uvalde texas and yet
another shooting in this country
abc's maria villarreal is our reporter
in texas and maria knows this community
marie is with us on the phone and can
you just describe to us i understand
this is a rural community um a
close-knit community a relatively small
one
david that's exactly right i mean this
community is about an hour and a half or
so outside of san antonio texas they
have less than 20 thousand people living
in the area and they are a farming and
ranching community we were just there
not too long ago covering some border
issues the mayor in the town
telling us over the last two months they
have been wrestling with a lot of
immigration issues but more importantly
just describing really the community
essence of
of his town talking about how they are
so close-knit so tight-knit
we are about 30 minutes away from uvalde
right now and on our road trip down
there we have seen a number of law
enforcement agencies
driving down there extremely fast we
know that the local sheriff's department
in san antonio bear county as well as
the san antonio police department they
are also responding to this area one
thing to know you know you just
mentioned right now that there are a
number of um
potential victims that are be taken to
the san antonio area and that's because
you know this town is so small and their
hospital is so small
that a incident of this magnitude what
we're talking about there is no way this
hospital could respond to this
i was in touch with the mayor's office
they do tell me right now that this is a
very flexible very fluid situation but
they are trying to get in touch with as
many parents as quickly as they can we
do know that the
children that were evacuated from this
elementary school were taken to a local
civic center so their parents could pick
them up
but
this is just a very scary situation
as anybody knows it has covered this
kind of stuff
and still a lot of details coming in
as we continue to
get down there you've been listening to
maria villarreal our correspondent based
in texas she's on her way to the scene
and she's already talked with sources in
that community
who have now the difficult task as they
so often do
when there are shootings across this
country of reaching out to inform
parents in that community
of just the horrific scene that's played
out in uvalde texas this afternoon
certainly before they can confirm to
any reporter on the scene or certainly
on the national level what the actual
numbers are
again we're on the air at this hour with
our breaking news coverage of yet
another school shooting in this country
in uvalde texas at the robb elementary
school it's believed
the
hospital there in uvalde reporting at
least two children dead and sources now
telling abc's aaron catersky among
others in our news division that that
number could actually be far worse when
authorities are finally able to confirm
in front of the cameras what's played
out today
early reports as many as 14 dead and of
course that number would include more
children than initially reported by that
hospital i want to bring in pierre
thomas our chief justice correspondent
who covers the fbi and law enforcement
in this country and pierre i know
they're already working this case
they are indeed david and to be clear
my sources are describing a gruesome
scene
at that school
they are aware of some of the numbers um
including the number 14 that aaron just
reported
sources saying
they're being careful because the
situation is so confusing and so
gruesome but make no mistake they are
describing multiple dead at that school
they are telling me
that
the highest levels of federal law
enforcement are being briefed on it as
we speak
i was just with the attorney general at
press conference a few moments ago he
acknowledged that he was being briefed
on the situation right before the press
conference he was seeking additional
information so literally the information
is flowing it's a very small
community they're trying to get
details from a obviously overwhelmed
small police department but again the
details that we have multiple dead
again a number of numbers are being
floated around in terms of the number of
dead uh sources saying be careful with
the numbers
in fact because it's such a confusing
situation however they're making clear
that we should get people there as soon
as possible because this is not going to
be anything but an ugly scene that has
been playing out over and over again i
cannot tell you how
depressed and
sad some of these law enforcement
officials are that are contacting us
david i think the country shares that
sentiment with them pierre just 10 days
ago you and i were in buffalo
reporting on the awful shooting in
buffalo new york just nine days ago our
team in california reporting from laguna
woods the gunman who walked into a
church there
now our team on the way to uvalde texas
where again this afternoon another
school shooting in this country
as pierre just reported law enforcement
telling our team and i'm sure many
others that this is going to be yet
another horrific scene in this country
again the hospital in that very small
community confirming to abc news that
several people were brought to that
hospital for help
the hospital reporting at least two
children dead which is an awful number
in and of itself
then sources reporting that the number
could actually be far higher when
we get a clearer picture of what's
playing out in this community
fbi and federal sources telling pierre
thomas
simply that this is going to be a
horrific scene when it's all said and
done we do know that authorities in that
community plan to brief reporters at
some time in the near future of course
we'll bring that to you
as soon as we have it
in the meantime i want to bring in
elizabeth newman formerly with the
department of homeland security and
elizabeth you don't need me to tell you
that this has been a problem for many
years in this country and particularly
in these last couple of weeks
authorities have been warning that this
could get even worse
that's right david we've sadly been
expecting more of these types of attacks
but it really is gut-wrenching when it's
an elementary school it reminds us of
newtown in december of 2012 when another
elementary school was hit
and there just are no words
we
we have got to figure out a way to
be able to identify individuals that are
um showing signs and indications that
they want to commit acts of violence and
we have to find a way to start to
prevent this it is just
uh
an epidemic of violence that we have
seen at historic levels for the last
five years and it looks by all
indications
to be another horrid year and possibly
likely to break records
with the number of active shooters
and the number of incidents of violence
in this country
our thanks to you i want to go back to
aaron katurski
who is just reporting in more
information from his sources erin what
are you learning
david initially reported as taking place
outside the school abc news has now been
told by multiple law enforcement sources
that there was gunfire inside this
school rob elementary in uvalde texas by
a gunman who is according to these
sources dead an 18 year old male that
came into that school with an unknown
firearm or firearms and authorities are
now exploring what his connection might
have been to that school they're they're
not exactly certain they are working
with a name and they are now also
scouring social media looking for any
background and any connections that he
may have with with any other people but
at the moment uh authorities are
of the belief that even though this was
initially reported to have taken place
outside the school
there was gunfire inside the school with
multiple dead including sadly david a
number of children aaron katurski
reporting that the
suspect they have a name they're working
the case of potential contacts to the
school and
for those of you who have been watching
from the beginning one of my questions
early on was whether or not this played
out inside the school or outside early
reports had been that this was off
campus aaron katurski now reporting that
it was inside that school which
obviously
makes more sense given the scope of this
tragedy unfolding before our eyes here
uh late this afternoon again uvalde
texas you can see law enforcement on the
scene that it's been growing since we've
been on the air rob elementary school
reports of a young gunman going into
that school and opening fire
reports
sources telling abc news and this number
is a difficult number to report this
afternoon but that as many as 14 could
be dead and that would include several
children
we do know that the uvalde memorial
hospital which is in that very small
rural community
has reported to abc news that at least
two children have died
either upon arrival or since arriving at
that hospital so we know
that particular number but authorities
have been telling us this afternoon that
the number will likely get far worse
i want to bring in brad garrett long
time abc news contributor formerly with
the fbi and brad i you know we've been
on the air far too many times with
stories like these
we heard elizabeth say earlier that
authorities had been warning that
the number of cases like this one could
sadly rise
over the course of the coming months and
we have seen just a stunning couple of
weeks in this country
so david you have to look at this from
the from the side that these are almost
impossible to stop unless you have as
elizabeth said some advanced information
the number of firearms the number of of
the millions of ar type weapons we don't
know if that was used but something like
that perhaps today
elementary schools typically do not have
security because they typically don't
need it and so the combination of maybe
no officer there
a person with overwhelming firepower
probably had to go through very little
security and think about buffalo as you
mentioned
shooter started outside shot people
outside the school then shot his way in
perhaps you had the same version here
but
to not repeat myself we are at the mercy
of what we know about people in advance
and without that
i there is no realistic way to stop
these
brad garrett with us
as we continue to follow this as well
brad thank you and we'll come back to
you
if needed along the way here certainly
and again
we're expecting to hear from authorities
there on the scene a short time from now
and of course we'll be back on the air
when that happens so that you can get a
clearer portrait clear picture of what's
playing out in uvalde texas what we do
know
before i send many of you to your local
news is that there has been a school
shooting at rob elementary school there
in uvalde texas about 80 miles outside
of san antonio
the hospital there in that very small
rural community already confirming at
least two children dead
sources telling abc news that that
number will likely grow a far higher
once they come before the camera a short
time from now we'll continue our
coverage on abc news live and on
abcnews.com we'll be right back on the
air as soon as authorities come to the
cameras and of course i'll be back with
the entire team for world news tonight
in the meantime for many of you it's
your local news i'm david muir in new
york we'll see you shortly
this has been a special report from abc
news