Ten people were killed and 10 others were wounded Friday morning by a teenager with a shotgun and a revolver at a high school in the southeastern Texas city of Santa Fe, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said.
“It was going to happen eventually. It’s been happening everywhere. I was ready to run out but my teacher told me to hide instead so that’s what I did,” another student said.
We grieve for the terrible loss of life, and send our support and love to everyone affected by this horrible attack in Texas. To the students, families, teachers and personnel at Santa Fe High School – we are with you in this tragic hour, and we will be with you forever… pic.twitter.com/LtJ0D29Hsv
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 18, 2018
It comes three months after the February 14 attack in Parkland, Florida, that killed 17.
US Vice-President Mike Pence said he and President Donald Trump were briefed on the shooting.
Mr Pence said the students, families, teachers and all those affected should know: “‘We’re with you. You’re in our prayers and I know you are in the prayers of the American people.”
“This has been going on for far too long in our country,” Mr Trump said.
“We grieve for the terrible loss of life and send our support and love to everyone affected by this absolutely horrific attack.
“My administration is determined to do everything in our power to protect our students, secure our schools and to keep weapons out of the hands of those who pose a threat to themselves and others.”
First lady Melania Trump also weighed in on Twitter, saying her “heart goes out to Santa Fe and all of Texas today”.
‘An all too familiar feeling’
The shooting is all but certain to re-ignite the national debate over gun regulations.
In the aftermath of the attack on Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, survivors petitioned city councils and state politicians, and organised protests in a grass-roots movement.
Within weeks, state politicians adopted changes, including new weapons restrictions.
The move cemented the gun-friendly state’s break with the National Rifle Association. The NRA fought back with a lawsuit.
In late March, the teens spearheaded one of the largest student protest marches since Vietnam in Washington and inspired hundreds of other marches from California to Japan.
Parkland survivors took to social media to express outrage and heartbreak over the Texas attack.
“My heart is so heavy for the students of Santa Fe High School. It’s an all too familiar feeling no one should have to experience,” Marjory Stoneman Douglas student Jaclyn Corin said in a tweet.
“I am so sorry this epidemic touched your town — Parkland will stand with you now and forever.”
She also directed her frustration at Mr Trump, writing: “Our children are being MURDERED and you’re treating this like a game. This is the 22nd school shooting just this year. DO SOMETHING.”
The calls for tighter gun controls that have swelled since the February mass shooting at a Florida high school have barely registered in gun-loving Texas — at least to this point.
Texas has some of the country’s most permissive gun laws and just hosted the NRA’s annual conference earlier this month.
In the run-up to Texas’ march primaries, gun control was not a main issue with candidates of either party.
Republicans did not soften their views on guns, and Democrats campaigned on a range of issues instead of zeroing in on gun violence.
