Transcript:
AILSA CHANG, HOST:
We begin this hour with the latest news out of Uvalde, Texas. For those of you with children nearby, what you’re about to hear may not be appropriate for young listeners.
Earlier today, a gunman walked into an elementary school and killed 15 people. It is a developing story that we’re going to be updating all evening long.
And joining us now with the latest is NPR’s Cory Turner. Hi, Cory.
CORY TURNER, BYLINE: Hey, Ailsa.
CHANG: So I understand that the governor of Texas, Greg Abbott, spoke at a press conference not too long ago. What did he say?
TURNER: That’s right. He spoke in Abilene. Governor said an 18-year-old male who is reported to have been a student at the local high school there in Uvalde abandoned his vehicle and around 11:30, entered Robb Elementary School, which serves second-, third- and fourth-graders in Uvalde. He apparently, the governor said, walked in with a handgun and perhaps a rifle, though Abbott did say that is not yet confirmed. Abbott told reporters that 15 people were killed in the rampage, 14 of them children and one teacher. He also said the suspected shooter is dead, and it is believed that he was killed by responding officers. Abbott said two responding officers were struck by rounds but were not injured seriously.
And then finally, Ailsa, we know that President Biden, who is returning from a trip to Asia, is going to address the nation around 8:15 Eastern time.
CHANG: OK. So the suspected gunman, 18 years old, now dead, was a student at the local high school. Do we know anything else about him?
TURNER: We’re not yet reporting his name, but Governor Abbott did say that the gunman is reported to have shot his grandmother before he entered the school. And obviously, that conjures memories of another mass shooting from 10 years ago when a 20-year-old gunman in Newtown, Conn., shot and killed his mother at their home and then drove to Sandy Hook Elementary School, where he shot and killed 20 children and six staff members.
