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Texas school where 19 pupils and two teachers were shot dead is to be demolished

The Robb Elementary School, where 19 students and two teachers were gunned down, is to be demolished.

High school dropout Salvador Ramos, went on a murderous rampage at the school in Uvalde in south western Texas last month.

And so devastated is the small close-knit community by the tragedy that the decision has now been taken to close the school and destroy it.

At a City of Uvalde council news conference, in response to a question, the mayor Don McLaughlin confirmed the demolition. But he added there was no exact timeline yet, for it to happen.

Uvalde city council meeting at which the Mayor Don McLaughlin says Robb Elementary School will be demolished. No exact timeline.  Pic: City of Uvalde/Facebook
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Uvalde city council meeting. Pic: City of Uvalde/Facebook

The news come just hours after it was revealed there were enough armed police to stop Ramos three minutes after he entered the school.

Crime scene tape surrounds Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, Wednesday, May 25, 2022. Desperation turned to heart-wrenching sorrow for families of grade schoolers killed after an 18-year-old gunman barricaded himself in their Texas classroom and began shooting, killing at least 19 fourth-graders and their two teachers. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
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The scene at the school after the shooting

Steven McCraw, director of the Texas Department of Public Safety, called the response an “abject failure” with “terrible decisions” made by the on-site commander.

He reiterated his previous assertion that as many as 19 officers had waited over an hour in a corridor outside classrooms before a special Border Force team entered and killed the gunman.

More on Texas School Shooting

The victims

Nineteen children in grade four – aged 11 and 12 – and two teachers were killed in the 24 May attack.

Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, was torn down after a gunman’s rampage in December 2012 led to the death of 26 people – 20 children between six and seven years old, and six adult staff members.