UVALDE, Texas — An 18-year-old gunman opened fire Tuesday at a Uvalde, Texas, elementary school, killing at least 18 children, officials said, and the gunman was dead.
The death toll also included three adults, according to state Sen. Roland Gutierrez, who said he was briefed by state police on the fatalities. But it was not immediately clear whether that number included the assailant.
Three people wounded in the attack are hospitalized in serious condition, Gutierrez told The Associated Press.
A Clayton business owner knows Uvalde, Texas, very well.
He tells 5 On Your Side's Mike Bush that his mom actually went to Robb Elementary because Uvalde is where his grandparents settled when they came to the United States.
"I spent many summers in Uvalde, Texas," John Rodriguez said. "I actually went to high school there one year in the 9th grade as my parents were transferring from one company to the other in the northern part of Texas."
Describing the town he said, "It's about 16,000 people. Very sleepy and quiet. I mean everybody knows everybody. I'm sure as the names get more and more released and more people are impacted, I'm sure my family will be impacted because they go to church there and they know everybody in that small community."
As far as today's news, he said he was "just shocked. You don't expect that in a small community like that."