10 Dead as Texas Students Become Latest Casualties in String of School Shootings

At least nine people were killed in a shooting at Santa Fe High School in Santa Fe, Texas on Friday morning. (Photo: @HCSOTexas/Twitter)

10 Dead as Texas Students Become Latest Casualties in String of School Shootings

"Over and over again, American kids are marched out of schools because their lives are endangered by gunmen who have been given easy access to arsenals and bulk ammo by lobbyists and lawmakers."

Ten people were killed, 9 students and a teacher, in a shooting at Santa Fe High School in Santa Fe, Texas on Friday morning, 35 miles southeast of Houston. At least three people were being treated for injuries. Law enforcement officials said the number of casualties could rise.

Two suspects have been taken into custody in connection with the shooting.

Law enforcement officials speaking at a news briefing at 12:30pm said "possible explosive devices" had also been found on and around the campus.

The gunman reportedly entered the school and opened fire at about 7:45am. One student told the local ABC News affiliate, ABC13, that a man had entered her art classroom as the school day was beginning and started shooting at class members. Students and teachers fled their classrooms, with some students jumping out of windows to escape the attack.

Ninth grader Angelica Martinez spoke with national media outlets about her experience:

According to the Gun Violence Archive, the Santa Fe High School shooting is the United States' 100th mass shooting of 2018.

As more details of the incident became known, survivors of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland, Fla.--who have led the nationwide #NeverAgain movement, calling for stricter gun control measures and an end to the National Rifle Association's power over legislators--were among the gun control advocates who spoke out about the latest mass shooting.

The president and other Republican leaders have been denounced by the #NeverAgain movement for insisting that equipping teachers with firearms would keep American students safe from shootings, rather than backing comprehensive gun control reforms like requiring all gun purchasers to submit to a background check and banning high-capacity ammunition magazines and military-style semi-automatic firearms.
"We are heartbroken today," said Kris Brown and Avery Gardiner, co-presidents of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, in a statement. "Once again, children are shot in their school. Once again, another mass shooting has grabbed the headlines, and meanwhile, so many other shootings go by without any attention. We've asked this time and time again--what will it take? What will it take for Congress to step up and do their jobs to protect innocent children from gun violence?"

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