Distraught families on Tuesday gathered at a local civic centre and turned to social media to mourn and to make desperate pleas for help finding missing children as the death toll in a gruesome school shooting at a Texas elementary school rose to at least 19 students. 

This comes after an 18-year-old gunman opened fire at a Texas elementary school, killing at least 19 children as he went from classroom to classroom, officials said, in the deadliest school shooting in nearly a decade and the latest gruesome moment for a country scarred by a string of massacres.

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On social media, pictures of smiling children were posted, their families begging for information. Classes had been winding down for the year and each school day had a theme. Tuesday’s theme was Footloose and Fancy. Students were supposed to wear a nice outfit with fun or fancy shoes.

Federico Torres was waiting for news about his 10-year-old son Rogelio. Speaking to KHOU-TV, Torres said he was at work when he learned about the shooting and rushed to the school.

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“They sent us to the hospital, to the civic centre, to the hospital and here again, nothing, not even in San Antonio,” Torres said. “They don’t tell us anything, only a photo, wait, hope that everything is well.”

Meanwhile, Lisa Garza, 54, of Arlington, Texas, mourned the death of her cousin, Xavier Javier Lopez, who had been eagerly waiting for a summer vacation for swimming.

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“He was just a loving 10-year-old little boy, just enjoying life, not knowing that this tragedy was going to happen today,” she said. “He was very bubbly, loved to dance with his brothers, his mom. This has just taken a toll on all of us.”

Since 2018, as many as 19 shooting incidents have taken place in schools as per EucationWeek. This year, as many as 27 school shootings have already taken place in the United States.

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A report by the Federal Bureau of Investigation stated that almost 250 people were hit by active shooters – 103 died in 2021. The number of active shooting incidents last year represents a 50% increase from 2020 and almost double the number in 2017, Bloomberg reported.

In May 2022 alone, shootings were reported in Buffalo, California, Houston and Milwaukee leaving 13 dead and 24 critically injured during the incident.

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In March-April 2022, six people were killed and 72 injured in New York, Brooklyn, Sacramento and Arkansas. Meanwhile, in Milwaukee, 6 people were shot dead in January, news agency AP reported.