UNFOUNDED claims that the gunman was born outside the US began to circulate on Twitter, Reddit and other social media platforms within hours of the shooting.
According to media reports, two Telegram groups with ties to white supremacist figures proclaimed that the shooter illegally crossed over from the Mexico border and created a mayhem. The group have thousands of followers and as a result the news spread like wildfire.
However, Texas governor Greg Abbott has said that Salvador Ramos, who shot and killed 19 students and two teachers in Uvalde, was a US citizen, not an illegal immigrant.
His clarification came after social media posts falsely claimed that the gunman was an immigrant illegally in the country.
It was flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed.
Meanwhile, Grief at the massacre of 19 small children at an elementary school in Texas spilled into confrontation Wednesday (25), as angry questions mounted over gun control -- and whether this latest tragedy could have been prevented.
The tight-knit Latino community of Uvalde became the site of America's worst school shooting in a decade, committed by a disturbed 18-year-old armed with a legally bought assault rifle.
Governor Abbott revealed that teen shooter Ramos -- who was killed by police -- shot his 66-year-old grandmother in the face before heading to Robb Elementary School.
Ramos went on social media to share his plan to attack his grandmother -- who though gravely injured was able to alert the police.
He then messaged again to say his next target was a school, where he headed clad in body armour and wielding an AR-15 rifle.
Biden asks lawmakers to take on America's powerful gun lobby
Pressed on how the teen was able to obtain the murder weapon, the Texas governor repeatedly brushed aside suggestions that tougher gun laws were needed in his state -- where attachment to the right to bear arms runs deep.
"I consider this person to have been pure evil," Abbott said, articulating a position commonly held among US Republicans -- that unfettered access to weapons is not to blame for the country's gun violence epidemic.
Abbott's stance was echoed by the powerful National Rifle Association gun lobby, which issued a statement labeling the shooter as "a lone, deranged criminal."
Texas Governor Greg Abbott with other officials, holds a press conference to provide updates on the Uvalde elementary school shooting, at Uvalde High School in Uvalde, Texas on May 25, 2022. (Photo by ALLISON DINNER/AFP via Getty Images)
But the governor was called out by a rival Democrat, who loudly interrupted the briefing to accuse him of deadly inaction.
"This is on you," heckled Beto O'Rourke, a fervent gun control advocate who is challenging Abbott for his job come November.
"You are doing nothing!" he charged. "This is totally predictable when you choose not to do anything."
O'Rourke's interruption came a day after President Joe Biden, in an emotional address, called on lawmakers to take on America's powerful gun lobby and enact tougher laws.
Biden announced Wednesday that he would soon visit Uvalde, as he renewed his plea for "common sense gun reforms."
"I think we all must be there for them. Everyone. And we must ask when in God's name will we do what needs to be done to, if not completely stop, fundamentally change the amount of the carnage that goes on in this country."
"I am sick and tired of what's going on and continues to go on," Biden said.
The Uvalde shooting was the deadliest since 20 elementary-age children and six staff were killed at the Sandy Hook school in Newtown, Connecticut in 2012.
According to the non-profit Gun Violence Archive, there have been more mass shootings -- in which four or more people were wounded or killed -- in 2022 than days so far this year.
Despite that, multiple attempts at national reform have failed in Congress.
(Agencies)
Dharavi slum in Mumbai
During the hearing, Clifford denied all the charges except for the rape charge, which was added to the indictment at the session. (Photo: Hertfordshire Police /Handout via REUTERS)
Man pleads not guilty to murder of BBC presenter's family
A 26-year-old man has pleaded not guilty to charges of murdering the wife and two daughters of BBC sports commentator John Hunt in a crossbow and knife attack.
Kyle Clifford, who also faces charges of rape, appeared via video link at Cambridge Crown Court on Thursday.
Clifford, arrested in July after a manhunt, is charged with three counts of murder, one count each of rape and false imprisonment, and two counts of possessing offensive weapons – a 10-inch knife and a crossbow.
During the hearing, Clifford denied all the charges except for the rape charge, which was added to the indictment at the session.
He is expected to enter a plea for that charge at a later date.
The victims were Carol Hunt, 61, wife of horseracing commentator John Hunt, and their daughters Louise, 25, and Hannah, 28.
An earlier hearing revealed that Louise had been found tied up and that both she and her sister had been shot with a crossbow, while their mother had been stabbed with a knife.
The fatal attack occurred at the family’s home in Bushey, a commuter town near Watford, northwest of London.
(With inputs from AFP)