A fourth-grade teacher who was one of 21 people killed in a school shooting in Texas has been identified.
The 18-year-old gunman opened fire at Robb Elementary School in the city of Uvalde, killing 19 students and two adults, according to local officials.
It's now been revealed that teacher Eva Mireles was one of the adults who was murdered in the attack.
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The news was confirmed by ABC News reporter Cecilia Vega, who tweeted today (25 May): "Eva Mireles. The 4th grade teacher who was murdered in Uvalde, Texas today."
Mireles' aunt Lydia Martinez Delgado was quoted as saying: "I'm furious that these shootings continue. these children are innocent. Rifles should not be easily available to all. This is my hometown, a small community of less than 20,000. I never imagined this would happen to especially loved ones."
She added: "All we can do is pray hard for our country, state, schools, and especially the families of all."
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Erick Estrada of the Texas Department of Public Safety said the teenage attacker hinted on social media of an upcoming attack before crashing his car outside of the elementary school and entering the building armed and wearing body armour.
He is suspected of killing his grandmother at the start of the rampage before opening fire on students and staff, and was later killed by law enforcement.
Although the death toll stands at 21 at the time of writing, authorities have said the figure is expected to rise.
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The incident marks the deadliest grade school massacre in the US since the 2012 shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Connecticut, which saw a gunman kill 20 children and six adults.
But this occurrence is worryingly familiar for the country, posing further pressure on the government to tighten up its gun laws.
The attack arrives just 10 days after a gunman in body armour killed 10 shoppers and workers at a supermarket in Buffalo, New York, in what authorities said was a racist attack.
In 2018, a gunman fatally shot 10 people at Santa Fe High School in the Houston area, a year after an attacker at a Texas church killed more than two dozen people during a Sunday service in the small town of Sutherland Springs. In 2019, another shooter killed 23 people in a racist attack at a Walmart in El Paso.
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Speaking from the White House yesterday evening, 24 May, President Joe Biden said: "When in God's name are we going to stand up to the gun lobby?
"I am sick and tired. We have to act."
If you have experienced a bereavement and would like to speak with someone in confidence contact Cruse Bereavement Care via their national helpline on 0808 808 1677
Daisy Phillipson