Texas Governor Greg Abbott revealed new details regarding messages sent by the gunman before he committed a "massacre" at an elementary school in the south of the state on Tuesday, in which 19 students and two adults were killed, before police shot the 18-year-old attacker.
The attack shook the feelings of public opinion and political classes in the United States and renewed the debate about citizens' possession of firearms and its repercussions, and the "massacre" came a day before US President Joe Biden signed an executive order on police behavior on the second anniversary of the death of George Floyd, an African American who was killed during He was arrested by the police.
The Texas governor said the gunman, 18-year-old Salvador Ramos, warned in an Internet message that he would shoot an elementary school minutes before he did.
The American official added that the perpetrator of the massacre sent another message saying that he would shoot his grandmother, noting that another person confirmed that he had done so.
His grandmother is still alive, but in critical condition.
Investigators hope that she can survive to unravel the motive behind the shooting.
The Democratic candidate for governor of Texas, Beto O'Rourke, interrupted the speech of his Republican challenger, Governor Greg Abbott, during a news conference to discuss the school shooting.
Uruk said during a verbal altercation that the state government was not doing anything to stop the shooting incidents, and that what happened was expected.
Ovaldi Mayor Don McLaughlin responded to O'Rourke, saying he was trying to raise a political issue.
Uruk soon withdrew from the hall.
In the aftermath of the shootings, at least two Texas Republicans elected officials called for greater security in schools and the arming of teachers, an approach opposed by arms control advocates.
The bloody attack took place in an elementary school in Texas (Al Jazeera)
The siege of the victims
In other details, investigators said that the gunman trapped the victims in one fourth-grade classroom, in the deadliest incident in nearly a decade.
Texas Department of Public Safety spokesman Chris Olivares told CNN that police cordoned off Robb Elementary School in Ovaldi, Texas, and smashed windows in an attempt to evacuate children and teachers.
But eventually, the officers stormed the classroom and killed the gunman.
According to authorities in Texas, Salvador Ramos began the killings by shooting his grandmother at home, and then went to the nearby school, where his car crashed as he entered, wearing body armor and carrying a rifle.
The attack occurred 10 days after the shooting of 13 people at a grocery store in a predominantly black neighborhood in Buffalo, New York, prompting President Joe Biden to call for stricter gun laws, in an address to the American people.
"We as a people have to ask ourselves when, for God's sake, are we going to rise up and stand up to pressure groups," Biden said, raising his voice.
Biden ordered the flags to be lowered until sunset every day until next Saturday due to the tragic incident, while the police still surrounded the entire school perimeter.
Biden and his wife, the first lady, will travel to Texas in the coming days to meet the families of the victims of the elementary school attack (Reuters)
Biden's statements
Biden said Wednesday that he and his wife, First Lady Jill, will be traveling to Texas in the next few days to meet with the families of the victims of the attack, and said that the idea that an 18-year-old could buy weapons designed for war was wrong and unreasonable, as he put it.
Biden called on the Senate to quickly certify his nominee to head the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, Stephen Dettelbach.
However, the prospects for passing new legislation restricting the carrying of weapons are still slim.
Almost all Republicans in Congress oppose the imposition of new restrictions on carrying guns, citing the right guaranteed by the US Constitution in this regard.
US Vice President Kamala Harris also said it is time to address gun lobbying and pass gun-safety legislation.
Biden's statements came as he signed an executive order on the behavior of policemen, on the second anniversary of the death of George Floyd, and Biden said, during the signing ceremony, that this order would introduce what he described as the largest reforms in the police sector in decades, and that its importance stems from that it will consolidate what he called it. Nation's wounds.
The presidential order focuses on federal law enforcement agencies and creates a database to help track officers' misconduct, according to the White House.