Uvalde Elementary Massacre Is Among the Deadliest Mass Shootings in Texas History

Texas has a mass shooting problem in a country infamous for mass shootings.

At least 21 people have died in Uvalde, a town roughly 85 miles west of San Antonio, after a gunman shot up an elementary school on Tuesday. Nineteen of the slain were children. Two were teachers. Reporters described hearing the screams of victims’ relatives from the parking lot. Authorities have not revealed a motive.

Tuesday’s horror comes on the heels of a racist massacre that claimed 10 Black lives in a Buffalo supermarket and a deadly Southern California church shooting.

It’s just one of more than three dozen U.S. mass shootings to have occurred this May alone. It’s the 27th school shooting to unfold this year so far.

The alleged shooter in Uvalde had reportedly purchased a pair of assault rifles after his 18th birthday on May 16, per The Daily Beast. It was a legal transaction.

Last year, Texas legislators made it easier for people to carry firearms. Republican lawmakers passed legislation that allows people to carry handguns without a permit or training. And the Second Amendment Sanctuary Act now prevents the enforcement of new federal gun regulations.

Tuesday’s tragedy comes three days before a National Rifle Association convention in Houston. In addition to former President Donald Trump, prominent Texas lawmakers are scheduled to speak there, including Gov. Greg Abbott and Sen. Ted Cruz.

Texas history is riddled with mass shootings. Here are six of the deadliest.

Sutherland Springs, First Baptist Church
In 2017, Devin Patrick Kelley killed 26 worshippers at a Baptist church in Sutherland Springs. Officials believe that Kelley may have been targeting his mother-in-law, a congregant there to whom he sent threatening texts ahead of the rampage. It remains Texas’ deadliest mass shooting.

Killeen, Luby’s
Roughly 30 years ago, a gunman named George Hennard plowed his pickup truck into a Luby’s in Killeen, shattering the plate-glass window. He then fatally shot 23 people in a misogyny-fueled attack. At the time, it was the deadliest mass shooting carried out by one person in U.S. history but was surpassed by the Virginia Tech shooting in 2007 that left 32 dead.

El Paso, Walmart
In August 2019, a 21-year-old Allen man allegedly killed 23 people in an El Paso Walmart. Patrick Crusius used a legally purchased assault rifle and had penned a hate-filled manifesto in which he described his intent to gun down Hispanic people. He spoke of an “invasion,” mirroring rhetoric deployed by prominent Republican politicians like Trump, Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick.

Uvalde, Robb Elementary School
In Texas’ latest carnage, 18-year-old Salvador Ramos is suspected of committing the second-worst school shooting in the country’s history. Law enforcement believe he shot his grandmother in the head before entering Robb Elementary School on Tuesday, where he killed nearly two dozen people. Ramos, who was a high school student in Uvalde, died in a shootout with police.

Fort Hood
Thirteen were killed in 2009 when Maj. Nidal Hasan opened fire on his fellow troops in a packed Fort Hood waiting room. The Army psychiatrist later told a judge he was attempting to prevent the deployment of troops to Afghanistan because he wanted to protect Muslims and Taliban leaders. It was the deadliest shooting on a U.S. military base to date.

Santa Fe, Santa Fe High School
Four years ago this month, a 17-year-old named Dimitrios Pagourtzis allegedly entered Santa Fe High School near Galveston. Armed with a shotgun and handgun, he's said to have killed 10 people in an art class. Pagourtzis had reportedly been bullied and made disturbing social media posts ahead of the massacre.