WASHINGTON | At least 19 children and two adults fell to gunfire at a Texas elementary school yesterday. This appalling shooting immediately reignited the gun control debate in the United States, but with no prospect of a solution.
“Another massacre. […] Why ? Why do we agree to live with this carnage? “, impatient the American president, Joe Biden, in reaction to the shooting of yesterday, which occurs a little more than a week after another massacre in Buffalo.
This time, it is an 18-year-old teenager, Salvador Ramos, who allegedly opened fire yesterday at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, a small town west of San Antonio, Texas.
Just before carrying out this killing, the assailant allegedly shot his own grandmother, said the governor of the State, Greg Abbott.
Then, equipped with a bulletproof vest and a rifle, according to Sergeant Erick Estrada of the Texas Department of Security, he fled in a vehicle which he later abandoned near the school after having had a “spectacular accident”.
Around 11:30 a.m., found by the police, he rushed inside the school of 600 students aged between 7 and 10 and opened fire in several classrooms.
The worst since Newtown
At press time, the death toll from the shooting was 21: 19 children and two adults, including a teacher named Eva Mireles. It is the deadliest school shooting since Newtown in 2012.
Last night many parents were still waiting to find their children in heartbreaking scenes outside the local community centre. Several more wounded were considered in “critical” condition at the end of the evening according to the authorities, raising fears of an even heavier toll.
The suspect is also said to have died, killed by the police. The young man was an American citizen and a student at the secondary school of Uvalde.
Authorities were still unaware of his motives last night. According to the police chief of the school district of Uvalde, he would have acted alone.
On social networks, he is associated with an Instagram account, deleted after the killings, which contains several photos: two black and white self-portraits where he appears wearing a hooded jacket, hair up to the nape of his neck, and the photo of a rifle magazine. On another shot, we also see two semi-automatic rifles.
– Listen to Mario Dumont’s interview with Benoît Blouin on QUB radio:
” Tiredness “
In his speech, President Biden quickly mentioned that it was time to act. “I’m tired and weary [de tout ça] “, he launched.
The American president had promised to act during his campaign, but he is not in a parliamentary position to adopt bold actions on this ultra-sensitive subject.
Closer to home, in Canada, the growth of gun violence and gunfire in Montreal is also worrying activists.
“Yes, there are solutions. Just document gun deaths in countries with a lot of scrutiny and it’s drastically less. Not just a little,” said Nathalie Provost, one of the survivors of the Polytechnique massacre.
— With Jean-François Racine, Dominique Scali, Olivier Faucher and Pierre-Paul Biron
THE REPETITION OF KILLINGS IN SCHOOLS
Uvalde, Texas, May 24, 2022
An 18-year-old man kills 19 students and two adults at Robb Primary School in the town of Uvalde.
Oxford, Michigan, November 30, 2021
A 15-year-old murders four students on the grounds of a school north of Detroit. His parents are also being prosecuted.
Santa Clarita, California, November 14, 2019
A 16-year-old marks his birthday by killing two comrades and injuring three others.
Santa Fe, Texas, May 18, 2018
A 17-year-old student mows down 20 people in his high school.
Parkland, Florida, February 14, 2018
On Valentine’s Day, Nikolas Cruz kills 17 people at a high school, from which the 19-year-old was expelled for disciplinary reasons.
Benton, Kentucky, January 23, 2018
A 15-year-old student shoots two students at Marshall County High School with a handgun.
Roseburg, OR, 1er October 2015
A 26-year-old student gunned down nine people at Umpqua Community College.
Oakland, California, April 2, 2012
A former student methodically slaughters seven people in the small university of Oikos. He died seven years later in prison.
Newtown, Connecticut, December 14, 2012
After shooting his mother, Adam Lanza, 20, kills 26 people, including 20 children aged 6 and 7, in a primary school before taking his own life.
Virginia Tech University, Virginia, April 16, 2007
A student kills 32 with his two semi-automatic pistols, before committing suicide.
Columbine, Colorado, April 20, 1999
Two 17- and 18-year-old Columbine High school students gun down 12 classmates and a teacher before committing suicide in the library.
Austin, Texas, 1er August 1966
A man at the top of the tower of the University of Texas at Austin fired for more than 90 minutes and killed fifteen people.