Photos: Aftermath of the Texas school massacre

People react outside the Ssgt Willie de Leon Civic Center, where students had been transported from Robb Elementary School after a shooting, in Uvalde, Texas, U.S. May 24, 2022. A teenage gunman killed at least 19 children and two adults after storming into a Texas elementary school on Tuesday, the latest bout of gun-fuelled mass murder in the United States and the nation’s worst school shooting in nearly a decade.

The 18-year-old suspect, who was killed apparently by police, also had shot his own grandmother before fleeing from the scene, then crashing his getaway car and launching a bloody rampage at Robb Elementary School in the town of Uvalde, Texas, about 130km west of San Antonio.

Law enforcement officers saw the gunman, clad in body armour, emerge from his crashed vehicle carrying a rifle and “engaged” the suspect, who nevertheless managed to charge into the school and open fire, Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) Sergeant Erick Estrada said on CNN.

Members of the community gather at the City of Uvalde Town Square for a prayer vigil in the wake of a mass shooting at Robb Elementary School on May 24, 2022 in Uvalde, Texas.

Speaking from the White House hours later, a visibly shaken US President Joe Biden urged Americans to stand up to the politically powerful US gun lobby, which he blamed for blocking enactment of tougher “common-sense” firearms safety laws.

Biden ordered flags flown at half-staff daily until sunset on Saturday in observance of the tragedy.

A child looks on through a glass window from inside the Ssgt Willie de Leon Civic Center, where students had been transported from Robb Elementary School after a shooting, in Uvalde, Texas, U.S.

Governor Greg Abbott said that the suspect, identified as Salvador Ramos, was apparently killed by police officers, and that two officers were struck by gunfire, though the governor said their injuries were not serious.

People sit on the curb outside of Robb Elementary School as State troopers guard the area in Uvalde, Texas, on May 24, 2022.

A woman cries and hugs a young girl while on the phone outside the Willie de Leon Civic Center where grief counseling will be offered in Uvalde, Texas, on May 24, 2022.

A board with the list of classes/teachers is displayed outside the Ssgt Willie de Leon Civic Center, where students had been transported from Robb Elementary School to be picked up after a suspected shooting, in Uvalde, Texas, U.S. May 24, 2022.

Gustavo Garcia-Siller, Archbishop of the Archdiocese of San Antonio, comforts people as they react outside the Ssgt Willie de Leon Civic Center.

A school bus is parked outside the SSGT Willie de Leon Civic Center, where the community has gathered in the wake of a mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas.

Law enforcement work the scene after a mass shooting at Robb Elementary School. The school’s student body consists of children in the second, third and fourth grades, according to Pete Arredondo, chief of the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District Police Department, who also addressed reporters. Pupils in those grades would likely have ranged in age from 7 to 10.

A woman offering hugs and prayers embraces a man outside the Ssgt Willie de Leon Civic Center. Tuesday’s bloodshed in Texas began when the suspect shot his grandmother before going to the school, Texas Department of Public Safety officer Chris Olivarez said on Fox News, a development Abbott mentioned earlier in the day.

Hours after the shooting, police had cordoned off the school with yellow tape. Police cruisers and emergency vehicles were scattered around the perimeter of the school grounds. Uniformed personnel stood in small clusters, some in camouflage carrying semi-automatic weapons.

A girl cries, comforted by two adults, outside the Willie de Leon Civic Center where grief counseling will be offered in Uvalde, Texas, on May 24, 2022.

A woman reacts outside the Ssgt Willie de Leon Civic Center.

People react outside the Ssgt Willie de Leon Civic Center, where students had been transported from Robb Elementary School.