19 children, two adults killed; Biden calls for action on gun laws

After confusing early accounts of the death toll, the state attorney general’s office in an official statement put the tally of lives lost at 18 children and two adults, including the gunman. A Texas Department of Public Safety spokesperson later told CNN that 19 school children and two adults were killed, not counting the shooter. One of the adults was a teacher.

In a televised speech US President Joe Biden said: “As a nation, we have to ask when in God’s name we’re going to stand up to the gun lobby, when in God’s name we do what we all know in our gut needs to be done.” Biden accused the gun lobby of blocking enactment of tougher firearm safety laws. He ordered flags flown at half-staff daily until sunset on Saturday in observance of the tragedy. read more “I am sick and tired of it. We have to act,” he said without going into specifics.