(UVALDE, Texas) — An elementary school in Texas was the site of one of the deadliest mass shootings in recent United States history this week.
Nineteen children and two teachers were killed Tuesday in a shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, law enforcement officials said.
Seventeen people also suffered non-life-threatening injuries in the shooting, which unfolded midday Tuesday when an alleged 18-year-old gunman opened fire at the school west of San Antonio, authorities said.
The Uvalde school shooting joins the grim ranks of nearly a dozen other mass shootings that have taken place at music festivals, nightclubs and other schools in the past nearly quarter-century in America’s unparalleled gun violence epidemic.
The incident makes it the second-deadliest shooting at an elementary, middle or high school in U.S. history — behind the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in 2012 — and the seventh-deadliest shooting in the country since the Columbine High School massacre in 1999.
Tuesday’s horror comes on the heels of yet another deadly mass shooting in Buffalo, New York, and amid a rapid rise in active shooter incidents across the country.
These are the mass shootings with the highest death tolls in recent American history, based on an ABC News analysis:
1: Oct. 1, 2017 — Route 91 Harvest Festival in Las Vegas, Nevada
60 deaths
Fifty-eight people were killed and hundreds injured after a gunman opened fire from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, targeting concertgoers below at the Route 91 Harvest Music Festival. Two victims additionally succumbed to injuries in the years following the massacre. The shooter, Stephen Paddock, killed himself in his hotel suite.
2: June 12, 2016 — Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida
49 deaths
A gunman opened fire inside the crowded nightclub at around 2 a.m., killing 49 people and wounding dozens. Many of the victims were Latinx and part of the LGBTQ+ community. The shooter — Omar Mateen, a 29-year-old former security guard — was killed in a shootout by responding police.
3: April 16, 2007 — Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia
32 deaths
Twenty-seven students and five professors were killed after Virginia Tech senior Seung-hui Cho, 23, opened fire on the campus in a dorm room and several classrooms. He then turned a gun on himself, dying of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
4: Dec. 14, 2012 — Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut
26 deaths
Twenty first-graders and six staff members were killed in minutes when 20-year-old Adam Lanza forced his way into the school with a semi-automatic rifle. Lanza also fatally shot his mother at their Newtown home that day and took his own life after the worst school shooting in U.S. history.
5: Nov. 5, 2017 — First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas
25 deaths
Twenty-five people between the ages of 5 and 72 were killed after a gunman opened fire during a Sunday service, marking the worst mass shooting at a house of worship in the U.S. ever. One of the shooting victims was pregnant. The shooter, Devin Kelley, died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound after he was chased and shot by two men.
6: Aug. 3, 2019 — Walmart in El Paso, Texas
23 deaths
The 23rd victim died nearly nine months after the shooting rampage. Patrick Crusius, 23, the alleged gunman, faces state capital murder charges and federal hate crime charges, after allegedly telling investigators that he set out to kill as many Mexicans as he could. He has pleaded not guilty to capital murder, while his federal trial might begin next year.
7: May 24, 2022 — Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas
21 deaths
In the latest school mass shooting, 18-year-old Salvador Ramos allegedly shot his grandmother at their home in Uvalde, critically wounding her, before driving to Robb Elementary School and opening fire in a classroom with an AR-15-style rifle. He was shot and killed by a responding law enforcement officer.
8. Feb. 14, 2018 — Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida
17 deaths
Fourteen children and three staff members were killed after a gunman brought an AR-15 into the high school. The shooter, Nikolas Cruz, 23, a former student at the school, has pleaded guilty to 17 counts of murder. His death penalty trial is ongoing.
9: Dec. 2, 2015 — Inland Regional Center in San Bernardino, California
14 deaths
Fourteen people were killed and another 21 injured in a terrorist attack at the Inland Regional Center, a facility aimed at providing services for the developmentally disabled. The shooters — Syed Farook and his wife, Tashfeen Malik — both died in a shootout by law enforcement that day.
10: April 3, 2009 — American Civic Association in Binghamton, New York
13 deaths
Immigrants and staff were among those killed and wounded after 41-year-old Jiverly Wong opened fire at the immigration center. Wong took dozens of students hostage before turning the gun on himself and dying by suicide.
11: April 20, 1999 — Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado
13 deaths
Twelve students and a teacher died when two students, seniors Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, opened fire at their high school before killing themselves. In the wake of the massacre, active shooter drills became more common at schools.
12. Nov. 5, 2009 — Fort Hood in Fort Hood, Texas
13 deaths
Twelve soldiers and one civilian were killed and dozens injured when Army psychiatrist Maj. Nidal Hasan opened fire on his fellow soldiers, who were preparing to deploy to Afghanistan, at the Texas Army facility. He is currently on the military’s death row after being convicted in what is considered the largest mass shooting at a U.S. military base in history.
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