Tragedy struck an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas on May 24 when a gunman opened fire and killed nearly two dozen people.
At least 19 children and two adults died, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety's Lt. Chris Olivarez.
During a press conference, Texas Governor Greg Abbott said gunman Salvador Ramos, 18, is believed to have entered Robb Elementary School with a handgun and possibly a rifle. According to NBC News, Ramos—a resident of Uvalde—was fatally shot by law enforcement officers responding to the attack at the school, which is located about 83 miles west of San Antonio.
Though the number of injured people is not yet clear in the hours just after the shooting, but University Health, based in San Antonio, said in a tweet that it was treating a child and a 66-year-old woman.
This marks the deadliest elementary school shooting since a gunman opened fire at Sandy Hook Elementary School in December of 2012, according to the New York Times.
Several stars also responded to the tragedy on social media. Read their reactions below.
Selena Gomez: "Today in my home state of Texas, 18 innocent students were killed while simply trying to get an education. A teacher killed just doing her job; an invaluable yet sadly underappreciated job. If children aren't safe in school, where are they safe? It's so frustrating and I'm not sure what to say anymore. Those in power need to stop giving lip service and actually change the laws to prevent these shootings in the future."
Matthew McConaughey: "As Americans, Texans, mothers and fathers, it's time we re-evaluate and re-negotiate our wants from our needs. We have to rearrange our values and find a common ground above this devastating American reality that has tragically become a children's issue."
Kourtney Kardashian: Schools should be a place where our kids go to learn, to make friends, to laugh, to grow, to discover themselves. A safe place where they can envision their futures. Not a place where their futures are taken away from them. How have we gotten to a point where it is acceptable for our children to be murdered in their schools? They deserve a safe place. They deserve protection. They deserve a future! I cannot begin to imagine what these parents are going through. What those children and teachers went through. Imagine how terrified they must have been. It breaks my heart. I plead to law makers to take accountability. We need a plan to protect our babies.
Kerry Washington: As a mother, this is the tragically unimaginable. School should be a SAFE place. My heart breaks for the pain and suffering of every family member and loved one connected to today's events in Texas. My prayers are with you.
Chris Evans: F--KING ENOUGH!!!!
Offset: Prayers for the people in Texas man those are kids that were killed smh this world needs God smh.
Mandy Moore: There are no words. We must take action. Uvalde, your entire community is in out hearts.
Khloe Kardashian: "I cannot comprehend today's tragedy in our country. 14 children dead. How is this happening? My heart is breaking. I pray, I hope, I beg, I plead… please, law makers, government officials, leaders of our country, do something to protect our children. It was "enough" ten mass shootings ago. It was "enough" after Sandy Hook. What good is protecting our freedoms when there is no protection of our lives?"
LeBron James: My thoughts and prayers goes out to the families of love ones loss & injured at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, TX! Like when is enough enough man!!! These are kids and we keep putting them in harms way at school. Like seriously "AT SCHOOL" where it's suppose to be the safest!
Elizabeth Banks: Vote like your kids lives depend on it because they f--king do. How many more? DO SOMETHING.
Alyssa Milano: I AM DEVASTATED AND HORRIFIED. How many children have to die? No parent should have to bury a child ever but especially because of political cowardice of those we elect to represent us and our children.
BeyGood: We are heartbroken over the loss of lives at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. Our prayers are with the families of the victims and with the students and staff whose lives are forever changed by this senseless, violent act.
Jimmy Kimmel: ...but you can't have a beer until you're 21. Please support @MomsDemand and @Everytown - AND VOTE THESE MONSTERS WHO DO NOTHING TO PROTECT OUR CHILDREN OUT OF OFFICE
Julianne Moore: School shooting are not f--king acts of nature, like, hurricanes or tornados. They're man-made acts of inaction, of cowardice, of corruption by all lawmakers who refuse to pass laws PROVEN BY DATA to stop preventable, senseless shootings like in Uvalde.
Kylie Jenner: Another school shooting devastating. Breaks my heart for these families.
Amanda Gorman: Schools scared to death. The truth is, one education under desks, Stooped low from bullets; That plunge when we ask Where our children Shall live & how & if.
Aaron Paul: "My heart is broken. How can we live in a society where people would rather not do a thing about gun reform and in turn would rather just wish our babies luck when they head into school."
Millie Bobby Brown: "Mourning the loss of these beautiful angels. Each one of these precious children deserved the chance to live their lives to the fullest and to pursue their hopes and dreams. My heart aches for their families and loved ones, the teachers and fellow students."
Kim Kardashian: Five years ago, almost to the day, I wrote an essay for my blog about my thoughts on gun control in honor of National Gun Violence Awareness Day. In it I asked "is it more important to protect the second amendment than to protect our own children?" Yesterday 19 children were murdered by an 18 year old, and I find myself heartbroken, disgusted and furious about how little has been done by law makers to enact gun laws that protect our children. There is no excuse and no justification for what happened yesterday. The current laws in our country around gun control are not protecting our children. We have to push law makers to enact laws that are fitting in today's world. Semi automatic weapons, assault weapons, weapons of war, should not be legally sold or owned by American civilians. They should be banned. Period. AR-15 style semi automatic rifles were used in Newtown, Parkland, Aurora, San Bernardino, Orlando, Parkland, in the Buffalo shooting 10 days ago, and reportedly in yesterday's shooting. Assault weapons are not a self defense tool. They are sophisticated weapons, designed to kill. Assault weapons didn't even exist when the Second Amendment was written. We have to stop allowing people to use a sentence written centuries ago when technology, times, humanity were completely different, to dictate how we regulate gun ownership, & how we protect our kids today. The legal age to purchase a firearm is also a serious issue and needs to be addressed and increased. The Parkland shooter, the Buffalo grocery store shooter, the Texas shooter yesterday, they were all under 21 and reportedly purchased weapons legally. These are teenagers. Someone who is not old enough to buy alcohol should not be allowed to purchase a firearm. There is no world in which an 18 year old needs a semi automatic weapon, or any weapon, and no world in which the outcome can be anything other than tragic. As I even type these words I am seriously dumbfounded that this is something considered normal, acceptable and legal. There is no question that mental health, racism, deep-seated hatred all play a role in the motivation for mass shootings in recent years. And at a community level, as parents, teachers, there is a lot that can be done to help teens and young adults that isn't being done. But the one thing that law makers can and should control now is access to weapons. There are of course people over 21 who buy guns to cause harm, and other mass shootings in recent years have been carried out by people over 21, but if we increase legal age to purchase, coupled with a ban on assault weapons, we can without a doubt reduce the number of senseless tragedies and save children's lives. We can't accept this as normal anymore. It's not normal for a teenager to kill children. It's not normal for our kids to be practicing active shooter drills in schools. It's not normal to be shot while shopping for groceries. I'm not numbed by it. I will never be numbed by it. We can't accept it. We can't have another five years go by without effective, impactful laws put in place to protect our kids. We are parents, we are mothers, we are begging and pleading for action. Imagine the entire classroom of children who witnessed their friends die in front of them. The trauma will last a lifetime for everyone involved. Words can't express my heartbreak for the parents whose babies didn't come home from school yesterday. I'm urging our leaders to come together and put politics aside and put children first.
Ariel Winter: 10,000 TODDLERS COULD BE SHOT IN THE HEAD TOMORROW AND NOTHING WILL CHANGE. BUT THANK GOD WE ARE CLOSE TO BANNING ABORTIONS.
Maren Morris: 18 elementary children… a small classroom size. Imagine you walk down a hall & an entire class… GONE. I've already lost track of which shooting happened even a year ago. The victim's families haven't and never will. At this rate, this kind of violence only happens HERE.
Chloe Bailey: when will this end??????? when will it stop??? how do we just keep letting this happen?? 18 babies gone!
Maria Shriver: This is devastating. This is a heartbreaking moment for every one of us who has to live in this country. This must stop each of us in our tracks. Each of us must do all we can to help our leaders who are in support of gun reform. This is a stain on our country — a stain on all of us! We can't hide behind second amendment rights, we can't just say it's just mental health. IT'S EVERYTHING, and IT'S UP TO EVERYONE! We've got to solve this now. Families are breaking apart. Lives are senselessly being lost. Everyone is susceptible. Every community, every event, every city is vulnerable. This should sicken each of us! We need reform now. We cannot wait. #uvaldetx
Mindy Kailing: It happens, and then life goes on. Then it happens again. And the only thing that changes - the literal only thing - is that it happens sooner and sooner.
Gabrielle Union: It's BEEN enough. We've been at "enough" for centuries.
Russell Wilson: We need to Pray. Pray for healing.Pray for change. Pray for Love.
Dan Levy: 18. Children. What will it take to prioritize humanity over politics?
Kris Jenner: I can't believe what I am seeing. My heart break for the families of the 14 innocent children killed today. It is unimaginable, horrific, inexcusable, devastating. Is this the country we want to leave to out children, our grandchildren? A country where kids can't even feel safe at school? No words can make this better. There is much that needs to change. Law makers—Please stop failing out children. I am praying for these families.
Shailene Woodley: what the actual f--k
Becky G: ENOUGH IS ENOUGH. Just last week a targeted mass shooting at a market in Buffalo and now a school shooting in Uvalde. Communities should be safe in their grocery stores, our CHILDREN should be safe in class! This has to end. Thoughts and prayers aren't enough. We need change.
Jon Batiste: We need to make some changes now
Beth Behrs: If we can't address the gun problem like humans, can we at least address the killing of innocent children problem? Like WHY? WHY? How and why is this only happening in America???
Joy Behar: Our country is lost. I weep for our children.
Mario Cantone: Enough with the guns. My heart breaks for the children and the parents and the teachers of Robb Elementary. The fear schools must endure every day knowing the government is doing nothing about gun control. Ironically this doesn't feel "pro life."
Rosanna Arquette: So many Kids in America are also committing suicide from the sickening ,Racistanti Lgbtq Bullying .the stress ,pressure and deep Fear assault on their minds everyday. This is ENOUGH. It's effecting their mental health. #GunControlNow
Finneas: Anyone saying "now isn't the time to talk about gun control" doesn't care that kids got f--king murdered today.
Bette Midler: WHAT IN GOD'S NAME ARE WE DOING? THIS HAS GOT TO CHANGE! THIS NATION IS FULL OF PEOPLE WHO CANNOT CONTROL THEIR WORST IMPULSES AND THE INNOCENT ALWAYS PAY THE PRICE! DON'T SAVE FETUSES ONLY TO HAVE THEM DIE AT SCHOOL BECAUSE YOU LOVE YOUR GUNS MORE THAN LIFE! FOR SHAME!!
Hillary Clinton: Thoughts and prayers are not enough. After years of nothing else, we are becoming a nation of anguished screams. We simply need legislators willing to stop the scourge of gun violence in America that is murdering our children.
Barack Obama: Across the country, parents are putting their children to bed, reading stories, singing lullabies—and in the back of their minds, they're worried about what might happen tomorrow after they drop their kids off at school, or take them to a grocery store or any other public space. Michelle and I grieve with the families in Uvalde, who are experiencing pain no one should have to bear. We're also angry for them. Nearly ten years after Sandy Hook—and ten days after Buffalo—our country is paralyzed, not by fear, but by a gun lobby and a political party that have shown no willingness to act in any way that might help prevent these tragedies. It's long past time for action, any kind of action. And it's another tragedy—a quieter but no less tragic one—for families to wait another day. May God bless the memory of the victims, and in the words of Scripture, heal the brokenhearted and bind up their wounds.
Andy Richter: It's either kids or guns. You need to decide which one is more important and vote accordingly.
Nina Parker: These mass shootings are once a week at this point. It's sickening. I don't have the words anymore.
Dylan O'Brien: republicans will force you to have your kid but will do absolutely f--king nothing to keep them safe.
Meena Harris: 14 children. Buffalo was a week ago. Unimaginably sickening. easier to get a gun than baby formula.
Jill Biden: Lord, enough. Little children and their teacher. Stunned. Angry. Heartbroken.
Stephen King: GUN CONTROL NOW! STOP THE SLAUGHTER OF THE INNOCENTS!
Andy Cohen: What a f--ked up country this is. Take away women's reproductive rights but give everybody a gun. What could go wrong.
NBA: The NBA family is devastated by the horrific shooting that took place today in Uvalde, Texas. Our thoughts and heartfelt condolences go out to the victims' family and friends, and the entire Robb Elementary School and Uvalde community.
Scheana Shay: Can't even wrap my head around what happened in Texas today! Absolutely devastating.
Garcelle Beauvais: What are we doing to stop this… my god.
Meghan McCain: God help us and help Uvalde, Texas. God help the the victims and their loved ones and pray for their souls hard right now. God help our sick country. God have absolute mercy on all of us. There is pure, unadulterated evil in this world.
Josh Gad: We as a nation care more about celebs fighting in court than children dying in classrooms. And to everyone who claims to be pro life, where is your compassion for the children who die every f--king week in this nation by the military grade guns you cherish?
Alan Bersten: So devastated reading about the horrific tragedy at Robb Elementary school. My prayers and thoughts are with the families and loved ones.
Nick Viall: So f--king tragic. This should be preventable!
Jason Tartick: Our innocent civilians are being shot down and killed as they shop for milk and bread and our children are being murdered in their elementary classrooms…disgusted, distraught and beyond comprehension.
Rachel Lindsay: I am sick. This country is synonymous with mass shootings. My heart absolutely breaks for the children, staff and families at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. The lack of progress around how to protect innocent lives from senseless gun violence is FAR past SHAMEFUL in this country."
Jax Taylor: Enough with the thoughts and prayers, f-----g do something!!!
Brittany Mahomes: This can not become a normal thing! We have to protect our schools! This is devastating and should not continue to happen