Robb Elementary School shooting was one of the worst mass shootings in United States history. On May 24, 2022, a gunman killed 19 students—all ages 9 to 11 years old—and 2 adults at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. The shooter then died by police gunfire. The incident shocked people throughout the world, in part because of the youth of the student victims. The shooting brought renewed attention to issues of gun control, mental health care, and school safety. 
The shooting.
On the morning of May 24, 18-year-old Salvador Ramos shot his grandmother, Celia Gonzalez, at their home in Uvalde. Ramos had legally purchased two semiautomatic assault rifles days after turning 18 years old on May 16, 2022. After shooting his grandmother, he drove her car to Robb Elementary School, where he crashed it into a nearby ditch. He emerged from the vehicle wearing black clothing, a vest designed for carrying body armor, a backpack full of ammunition, and carrying one of the rifles. He then shot at two men who had come to investigate the car crash.
Ramos climbed over the school fence and began shooting. The principal tried to initiate a lockdown of the school. Teachers began locking down classrooms based on word of mouth and hearing gunshots nearby.
The Uvalde school district police officer on duty at the school was not on the property. Ramos entered the school at 11:33 a.m. through an unlocked door and shot teachers and students in two classrooms. At 11:35 a.m., city police officers entered the school through the same door Ramos used. Ramos fired at the officers. The officers retreated and called for backup. While the officers were in the building, Ramos continued shooting in a classroom.
At 12:50 p.m., officers entered the classroom and fatally shot Ramos. Among the dead were 19 students and 2 classroom teachers. During the shooting, a number of school employees took heroic actions to protect students, hide them, and guide them to safety. Many safety problems in the school prevented an effective lockdown, including the unlocked exterior door, faulty locks on classroom doors, and a failed lockdown alert system.
Aftermath.
In the days after the shootings, investigators struggled to explain the motive behind the massacre and the delayed response from law enforcement. A Texas House committee investigating the incident released a report on July 17, 2022. The report detailed systemic failures among local, state, and federal officers present during the incident. 
President Joe Biden addressed the nation after the killings. He said, “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… They’ll live with it the rest of their lives… May God bless the loss of innocent life on this sad day. And may the Lord be near the brokenhearted and save those crushed in spirit, because they’re going to need a lot of help and a lot of our prayers.”
Political leaders debated whether certain kinds of assault weapons should remain legal to buy and own. They also discussed proposals that might prevent future school shootings. On June 25, 2022, a month after the shooting, President Biden signed into law the first major gun safety legislation passed by Congress since the 1990’s. The bipartisan legislation expanded background checks for prospective gun buyers under the age of 21 and provided funds to states for mental health programs.
