On Tuesday, May 24, 21 individuals, including 19 students and two teachers, were fatally shot after an 18-year-old armed with an assault rifle opened fire at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. 

The town, located 80 miles West of San Antonio, is predominantly Hispanic, with a total population of approximately 16,000 people.

A day after the shooting, residents of the town gathered together at the Uvalde County Fairplex to attend a vigil held in honor of the lives lost.

According to NPR, following the attack, an emergency command center was set up at Uvalde Memorial Hospital, and four children were transferred to a trauma center in San Antonio for further treatment.

The gunman, a resident of Uvalde, shot his grandmother before heading to Robb Elementary School, where he took the lives of second through fourth grade students. He was eventually shot and killed by a Border Patrol agent.

This school shooting is the 27th to take place in the country this year. Following the incident, President Biden addressed the nation, emphasizing the need to take action and fix the greater issue of gun violence in the United States.

“Another massacre. Uvalde, Texas. An elementary school. Beautiful, innocent second, third, fourth graders.  And how many scores of little children who witnessed what happened see their friends die as if they’re on a battlefield, for God’s sake. They’ll live with it the rest of their lives,” President Biden said. “For every parent, for every citizen in this country, we have to make it clear to every elected official in this country: It’s time to act. It’s time — for those who obstruct or delay or block the common sense gun laws, we need to let you know that we will not forget. We can do so much more. We have to do more.”

Victims of the shooting included:

Makenna Lee Elrod, 10

Layla Salazar, 11

Maranda Mathis, 11

Nevaeh Bravo, 10

Jose Manuel Flores Jr., 10

Xavier Lopez, 10

Tess Marie Mata, 10

Rojelio Torres, 10

Eliahna “Ellie” Amyah Garcia, 9

Eliahna A. Torres, 10

Annabell Guadalupe Rodriguez, 10

Jackie Cazares, 9

Uziyah Garcia

Jayce Carmelo Luevanos, 10

Maite Yuleana Rodriguez, 10

Jailah Nicole Silguero, 10

Irma Garcia, 48

Eva Mireles, 44

Amerie Jo Garza, 10

Alexandria “Lexi” Aniyah Rubio, 10

Alithia Ramirez, 10