Two officers were shot Tuesday trying to stop the 18-year-old shooter from entering a school in Uvalde, Texas, CNN reports.
The two officers were shot as they engaged the gunman outside the school building, according to CNN. The shooter then entered the school, barricaded himself in a classroom, and killed 19 children and two teachers. The two officers are expected to survive.
Later, a specialized tactical team forced its way into the classroom where the killer had barricaded himself, and a Border Patrol agent fatally shot the gunman, according to AP News. The Border Patrol agent was shot during the encounter but is also expected to survive, CNN reported.
NEW: Texas DPS tells me there are still 17 people injured this morning as a result of the mass shooting in Uvalde, TX, some in serious condition. That includes the shooter’s grandmother. I’m told he shot her in the face before he went to the school and started killing. @FoxNews
— Bill Melugin (@BillFOXLA) May 25, 2022
Marsha Espinosa, Assistant Secretary of Public Affairs for the Department of Homeland Security, took to Twitter on Tuesday evening with an update on the Border Patrol agents who had responded to the active shooter situation. (RELATED: Matthew McConaughey Reacts To The Horrific School Massacre In Texas, Says Americans Must ‘Renegotiate Our Wants From Our Needs’)
“Upon entering the building, Agents & other law enforcement officers faced gun fire from the subject, who was barricaded inside,” Espinosa wrote. “Risking their own lives, these Border Patrol Agents and other officers put themselves between the shooter and children on the scene to draw the shooter’s attention away from potential victims and save lives.”