Death toll in Texas school shooting reaches 21

Eighteen children and three adults are dead after an active shooter was reported at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, according to authorities.

A teenage gunman opened fire at the elementary school on Tuesday before the suspect was also killed, officials said, in the latest spasm of mass gun violence sweeping the United States.

“There is an active shooter at Robb Elementary,” the school district said in a tweet. “Law enforcement is on site. Your cooperation is needed at this time by not visiting the campus. As soon as more information is gathered it will be shared.”

The shooting prompted the school to go into lockdown. Students there were transported to St Willie Delon Civic Centre where they will be reunited with their parents.

Authorities said the suspect acted alone.

The shooting unfolded just 10 days after 10 people were killed in Buffalo, New York, in a predominantly Black neighborhood. An 18-year-old man whom authorities said opened fire with an assault-style rifle has been charged.