A tragic death toll has risen during a shooting at an elementary school in southern Texas that left 19 children and two adults dead.
The 18-year-old gunman opened fire on Robb Elementary School in the town of Uvalde before being killed by police, officials said.
Investigators say the suspect was armed with a pistol, a semi-automatic AR-15 rifle and high-capacity cartridges.
The death toll also included two adults, authorities said. Gov. Greg Abbott said one of the two was a teacher.
The attack on Robb Elementary School in the Latin city of Uvalde was the deadliest attack on a school in the US since a gunman killed 20 children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Connecticut, almost a decade ago.
"My heart is broken today," said Hal Harrell, the school district overseer, announcing that all school activities were canceled until further notice. "We are a small community and we will need your prayers to overcome this."
The attack in Texas came less than two weeks after a gunman opened fire on a supermarket in Buffalo, New York, killing 10 people of color. Officials have called the attack a hate crime.