breaking news tonight the horrific
shooting rampage at an elementary school
in texas at least 18 children and three
adults killed in the mass shooting
according to a state senator briefed by
texas rangers the image is coming in the
massive police presence the gunman
identified as an 18 year old killed by
officers and reports he shot his own
grandmother before entering the school
parents rushing to be reunited with the
terrified children president biden
addressing the nation tonight after
ordering flags to half staff our team at
the scene in texas what we're learning a
special edition of nightly news starts
right now
this is nbc nightly news with lester
holt
good evening he's shot and killed
horrifically incomprehensibly
those are the words of texas governor
greg abbott tonight after one of the
deadliest school shootings in u.s
history
18 eighteen children and three adults
gunned down today at an elementary
school in uvalde texas west of san
antonio according to a state senator
briefed by texas rangers the gunman 18
years old and described as a resident of
the community entered the school with a
handgun and possibly a rifle it appears
he was killed by officers who responded
to the shootings
president biden addressed the nation a
short time ago more on his message in a
moment this comes just 10 days after the
mass shooting at a supermarket in
buffalo in which 10 people were killed
one more horrific and stunning act of
gun violence in a nation so weary from
it
we begin tonight with morgan chesky in
texas
lester every update that has come in
today on this story has only brought
more heartbreak to this tight-knit
community of only about 15 000 people
tonight a massive law enforcement
presence has descended on this small
town and it is converging on robb
elementary school behind me now covered
up in crime scene tape as investigators
scour this area for evidence and try to
find what caused this 18 year old gunman
to go inside and open fire
tonight at least 21 lives have been
tragically cut short according to texas
state senator roland gutierrez who says
he was briefed by texas rangers
and yet another school in america has
become the scene of a mass shooting
there are families who are in mourning
right now and 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 this time it happened in
south texas at robb elementary school
for second through fourth graders in
uvalde about 80 miles west of san
antonio
at least 13 people were injured
according to a hospital official two
medevac to san antonio a woman in her
60's and a 10 year old girl both are in
critical condition we'll notify the
parents and the families as soon as we
have some news for them two police
officers were struck by rounds but are
expected to survive
it all started at 11 32 this morning
when the shooter abandoned his vehicle
then entered the school with a handgun
and possibly a rifle according to the
governor it is being reported
that the subject
shot his grandmother right before he
went into the school
tonight police say the gunman is dead
the governor naming him as 18 year old
salvador ramos from uvalde no word yet
on his motive let me assure you the
intruder is deceased and we are not
actively looking for another individual
or any other suspects in this case bobby
studer was at the school dropping off
flowers for his wife who was retiring
friday when he heard gunshots her class
and everybody around her got in the
cafeteria
and just kind of turned off the lights
got on the stage
started papering the windows
she said the kids were real good
the last day of school here was supposed
to be just days away
instead tonight blood stains the
sidewalk outside
and parents are gathering at this local
civic center to be reunited with their
children left terrified my heart was
broken today
we're a small community
and we need your prayers to get us
through this
morgan take us inside the scene on the
ground right now what's it like
lester on one hand it is a very active
investigation here at the scene outside
rob elementary but about a quarter mile
from where i'm standing this is there's
a civic center that's become a
reunification site and that has been the
scene of so much incredible heartbreak
today parents rushing there frantically
unsure if their child is still alive and
we're told at this hour there are still
people potentially left waiting to hear
word from authorities and not having any
clarification on how the fate of their
child is right now in the meantime
authorities say they will be remaining
here
for the foreseeable future grief
counselors will be made available to
every student here in uvalde who needs
one starting tomorrow
and i understand school officials have
briefed the media a few times what are
they saying
i think lester what they're saying is
the fact that this is a tragedy that
hits
harder than anything they've ever
experienced in their lifetime the
superintendent earlier today in a press
conference was almost at a loss for
words it was very brief and that they
only acknowledged the incredible loss
that they were enduring and frankly said
they couldn't say any more other than
pledging to be there for their staff and
students and what will be an incredibly
long road of recovery ahead lester all
right morgan thank you a short time ago
law enforcement officials revealed more
about the suspect who was killed in the
aftermath we want to go to miguel
almaguer now and miguel what more can
you tell us about the suspect in this
case
well lester good evening investigators
are just now pouring through salvador
ramos's life while motive is the big
question tonight it may be some time
until we have that answer police believe
at this point the 18 year old suspect
who had a birthday just last week acted
alone when he carried out one of the
deadliest school shootings in u.s
history tonight state senator roland
gutierrez who says he was briefed by
texas rangers tells nbc news the suspect
bought two assault rifles on his
birthday from a local gun store at this
hour it's unclear if those weapons were
used in the assault meantime it's
believed ramos had social media accounts
which will be of high interest to
detectives a big part of their
investigation will be combing through
his digital footprint looking for
potential clues to the motive
authorities believe the suspect who
again was killed during that police
response recently attended a local
school tonight detectives are working
with the fbi to learn more about the
teenage gunman who they say was wearing
body armor
we're in the process of obtaining
detailed background information on the
subject his motive the types of weapons
used the legal authority to possess them
and conduct a comprehensive crime scene
investigation and reconstruction and
identify and interview all witnesses and
provide victim services and other
support as needed the subject is
reported to be a student to have been a
student at u valley high school
and is a u.s citizen
as reported authorities believe the
suspect was armed with a handgun and at
least one rifle they're still working to
determine exactly which weapons were
used authorities are going to work hand
in hand with the atf to determine those
details as part of their bigger
investigation it's also unclear if ramos
had ever attended the local elementary
school or how familiar he may have been
with the campus layout lester all right
miguel almaguer thank you this deadly
rampage in texas comes as mass shootings
are in fact on the rise nationwide gabe
gutierrez is here and gabe this type of
horror has become quite familiar to
america yeah that's right lester this is
the deadliest school shooting in the u.s
since the parkland rampage in february
of 2018. as has become common now there
are already growing calls to stop gun
violence which has been especially
brutal this year
another crime scene another
earth-shattering act of violence another
mass shooting in america this one at an
elementary school full of second through
fourth graders 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
there are more mass shootings than days
in the year senator chris murphy
represents newtown connecticut the
somber site of its own elementary school
massacre a decade ago fred gutenberg's
daughter was one of 17 students and
staff killed in 2018 at marjory stoneman
douglas high school in parkland florida
are we going to watch more kids die or
are we going to do something already
this year there have been more than 200
mass shootings according to data from
the gun violence archive and a new fbi
report shows the number of active
shooter incidents in the u.s last year
jumped more than 50 percent compared to
the year before
the shooters increasingly choosing soft
targets just days ago 10 people were
killed at a supermarket in buffalo their
funerals still underway in california a
gunman targeted a church
in the last three years gunmen have
opened fire at a kosher market in new
jersey a walmart in el paso and a
supermarket in boulder colorado the
statistics are clear but what to do
about them is not
we are seeing
way too many of these horrific mass
murders and
we need to devote far more law
enforcement resources to stopping
violent criminals and preventing these
kind of
absolute acts of evil
and gabe you and i have covered more of
these we than we care to even think
about what was it like to hear the
numbers to see those images again that
are all too familiar lester we were on
the air earlier today when the governor
first received revealed that death toll
and it was just a gut punch you know you
said it how many of these shootings have
we reported on over the last decade and
i think back to columbine you know i was
just a teenager then but i remember how
unbelievable it felt at the time how
tragic now that this has all become so
common yeah the list continues to grow
all right gabe thank you
moments ago president biden once again
addressing the horror of a mass shooting
during his presidency the president
briefed about the shooting as he was
traveling back from a trip to asia
kristin welker is in washington now with
the latest
lester an emotional president biden
assumed the role of consoler in chief
yet again tonight addressing the nation
just moments ago
the parents who will never see their
child again
never have them jump in bed and cuddle
with them
parents will never be the same
to lose a child
it's like having a piece of your soul
ripped away
there's a hollowness in your chest you
feel like you're being sucked into it
and never going to be able to get out
suffocated
it's never quite the same so tonight
i ask the nation to pray for them
give the parents simply the strength
and the darkness they feel right now
as a nation we have to ask when in god's
name
are we going to stand up to the gun
lobby
when in god's name
we do we all know in our gut needs to be
done
the president was briefed on the
horrific events in texas while traveling
back from asia on air force one and
spoke to governor abbott just last week
president biden visited a grieving
community in buffalo new york after 10
people were killed in that racist
shooting attack against a predominantly
black community while there he renewed
calls for an assault weapons ban he also
visited atlanta last year in the wake of
a mass shooting targeting the
asian-american community there and of
course president biden was serving as
vice president under former president
obama when 20 elementary school children
and six teachers were killed in the
sandy hook massacre congress tried to
pass expanded background checks but
failed to get enough support from
republicans and moderate democrats as
the debate over how to prevent these
atrocities plays out after every mass
shooting at the white house tonight the
flags have been lowered to half staff as
the president and the nation mourn yet
another unthinkable tragedy lester
kristen welker kristen thank you in 60
seconds more coverage of a tragic day in
texas and also tonight critical primary
elections and a big test of donald
trump's power to sway voters we'll look
at a key race for senate in georgia and
more new projections just in tonight
we're watching critical primary
elections tonight in five states georgia
alabama arkansas texas and minnesota and
what is the biggest test yet of the
power of donald trump's endorsements two
of the most closely watched contests are
in georgia the republican primary for
governor and the republican race for
secretary of state
and just in tonight nbc news projects
brian kemp has won the republican
nomination for governor blaine alexander
filed this report a short time ago
its primary day in the peach date
already breaking records before the
polls even opened with early voting
numbers higher than georgia has ever
seen in a primary more than 850 000
ballots cast but the focus the race is
on the ballot and one big name that's
not former president donald trump who in
the biggest test yet of his
post-presidential political power has
pushed his chips in on two big races
governor and secretary of state and
let's bring this home his biggest target
georgia governor brian kemp brian kemp
he sold you out trump blames kemp for
his 2020 election loss in georgia now
trump's hand-picked challenger former
senator david perdue is staking his
campaign on the big lie the election in
2020 was rigged and stolen how key is
donald trump's endorsement to your
campaign well i think in georgia it's
everything but it may not be enough a
recent poll shows purdue down more than
30 points and while his message
resonates with some georgia republicans
do you believe the 2020 election was
stolen
i know it was stolen for others trump's
word is not enough to break ranks did
you support president trump i did and
does his criticism of the governor
i don't like that
i don't like it at all
on the democratic side no contest with
stacey abrams set to officially clinch
her party's nomination tonight the
campaign that i'm running from the day i
launched is about one georgia it's about
traveling the state talking to georgia
in neighboring alabama where voters are
also casting ballots today the former
president has withdrawn his endorsement
of congressman moe brooks for senate a
staunch trump supporter who appeared
with him at the january 6th stopped the
steel rally brooks spoke with our von
hilliard why did you go up in the polls
in the last few months well because we
were able to with our limited funds
start campaigning more aggressively back
in georgia governor kemp getting an
election eve boost from former vice
president mike pence backing the very
candidate his one-time boss is working
to unseat when you say yes
to governor brian kemp tomorrow you will
send a deafening message all across
america that the republican party is the
party of the future
and here in georgia trump is also
setting his sights on secretary of state
brad rappenberger backing his opponent
jody heiss because raffensburger would
not change georgia's 2020 results lester
lane thanks we're back with more nightly
news after this
exactly three months after it invaded
ukraine russia tonight is intensifying
its assault on the eastern portion of
the country and is gaining ground and
now authorities are warning the war
could spark a global food crisis richard
angle is there
in the donbas in eastern ukraine an army
chaplain and his team filmed their
journey into the town of liman
russian artillery falling around them
russia has taken control of half the
town the chaplain was looking for
ukrainian civilians to evacuate further
down the road we met some alexander was
escaping liman with his family
we were hoping the russians wouldn't
enter the town but then we had to leave
the town doesn't exist anymore he says
before they left to catch a train out of
the region russia is interested in liman
a small town for one reason range if
russian forces take liman it puts two
ukrainian cities slavyansk and
kramatorsk in striking distance of
russian artillery
walking in artillery is russia's main
tactic now it's destructive simple and
proving effective so is russia's other
tactic blockade
russia's takeover of large parts of
southern ukraine and warships in the
black sea are cutting off ukraine from
selling its main export grain and these
satellite images ukraine says show
russian ships stealing some of that food
the european commission today accused
russia of trying to provoke a global
food crisis ukraine is sitting on 20
million tons of grain it can't move
lester richard angle in ukraine thank
you up next a final thought after
another deadly day at a school in
america 18 students reported killed at
robb elementary
[Music]
the funerals in buffalo aren't even over
yet and tonight the families of
elementary school children and teachers
in texas are faced with the unthinkable
burying their own
we have been here before
columbine sandy hook
marjory stoneman douglas
now it's rob elementary
every time every time we pray things are
going to change
that things are going to be different
we search for motives for answers
and for the way to make sure these
horrible scenes can never happen again
today's news is confirmation we have yet
to find those answers
tonight we can hold our loved ones
closer
we can cherish the moments we have
together
and take a moment to think about those
in the rob elementary community who no
longer can
that's nightly news for this tuesday the
today show has live coverage from texas
and i'll be there tomorrow night for
nightly news stay with nbc news now for
streaming coverage throughout the
evening thank you for watching i'm
lester holt please take care of yourself
and each other
thanks for watching our youtube channel
follow today's top stories and breaking
news by downloading the nbc news app
you