Germany has tough gun laws and school attacks

German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser sharply condemned the Texas school massacre, saying she's shocked by the "terrible bloodshed.'' "It is horrific that so many children and a teacher were killed. And it is terrible how powerful the gun lobby still is in the USA — despite so many terrible crimes," Faeser tweeted on Wednesday.

Germany has a strict weapons law, and its authorities must enforce it decisively, she said.

"Above all, we must disarm extremists very consistently. Where necessary, we will further tighten gun laws," Faeser said.

However, Germany is not immune from school attacks. Last week, a school employee was seriously wounded in a crossbow attack at a high school in Bremerhaven and a suspect was detained. Earlier this month, a 16-year-old was detained for allegedly plotting an attack on a secondary school in Essen after police seized weapons and bomb-making materials from his apartment, authorities said.

___ Hartford (US): Schools around the country increased security as a precaution after the killings of 19 children and two teachers in Texas.

In Connecticut, where the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting killed 20 first graders and six educators, state police said they were sending extra troopers to schools Wednesday, although no specific threats had been received.

"This assault on the most innocent of our citizens is deeply disturbing and heartbreaking," Connecticut state police Col. Stavros Mellekas said in a statement. "At this time, our focus will be on protecting all school populations here in our state." Schools in Washington, D.C., Atlanta, Virginia, Maryland and Florida also were among those increasing security and offering counseling.

"Last night, I hugged my two kids a little tighter," New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker said in a statement. "This morning, I gave them an extra kiss before sending them off to school. ... How many more must die in our schools, in our supermarkets and in our streets before the US Congress acts to help address this carnage?" ___ Washington: Majority Leader Chuck Schumer took to the Senate floor Wednesday in the aftermath of the Uvalde, Texas, school shooting to call out the Republicans' decades-long opposition to gun control legislation.

"Maybe the thought of putting yourself in the shoes of these parents instead of in the arms of the NRA might let you wriggle free from the vise-like grip of the NRA to act on even a simple measure," the New York Democrat said. "For the sake of these children, these 9-year-olds, these 10-year-olds, these 11-year-olds, these beautiful children, please, damn it." The Democrats' desperate pleas to Republican colleagues reflect a long history of congressional inaction on gun control since a gunman killed 20 schoolchildren in Newtown, Connecticut, nearly a decade ago. Democratic lawmakers have introduced countless proposals that would have required a background check of the gunman in Texas. All failed to pass, mostly due to the filibuster.

Schumer pledged Wednesday to move forward with or without Republican lawmakers. "If we can't find a good, strong bill that has bipartisan support, we will continue to pursue this issue on our own," he said.

___ Washington: Instagram has confirmed it's working with law enforcement to review an account that appears to belong to the gunman who killed 19 children and two teachers in Texas.

A series of posts appeared on Instagram and TikTok in the days leading up to Tuesday's shooting. One selfie appears to show the shooter in front of a mirror. Another photo shows a gun magazine in hand. And on Friday, the same day law enforcement officials believe Salvador Ramos bought a second rifle, a picture of two AR-style semi-automatic rifles appeared.

Another Instagram user with many more followers was tagged in that post. That user has since removed her profile, but first she shared parts of what appears to be a chilling exchange with Ramos, asking her to share his gun pictures with her more than 10,000 followers.

"I barely know you and u tag me in a picture with some guns," she responded, adding, "It's just scary." A response sent from Ramos's account on Tuesday morning just said: "I'm about to." Witnesses said they heard the shooting begin around 11:30 am.

___ Uvalde: The man who killed 19 children and two teachers in Texas bought his guns legally days before the attack and soon after his 18th birthday, a law enforcement briefing said.

He bought one AR-style rifle from a federally-licensed gun dealer in the Uvalde area on May 17, according to a state police briefing given to Senator John Whitmire. The next day, he bought 375 rounds of ammunition, and bought a second rifle on May 20.

Officers recovered one of the rifles from Ramos' truck and the other was found in the school, according to the briefing. It says Ramos dropped a backpack with several magazines full of ammunition near the school entrance, and that he was wearing a body-armour style vest but that it had no hardened plates inside.

___ Fort Lauderdale (US): A man standing outside a Florida courtroom said he's in physical pain thinking about what the victims' parents are experiencing in Texas.

Tom Hoyer's 15-year-old son Luke was killed in the 2018 massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. Now he's watching the selection of a jury that will decide whether the murderer gets the death penalty or life in prison.

His voice breaking and his knees shaking, Hoyer said he knows too well what the victims' parents are experiencing in Texas.

"I know what those families had to endure sitting in a room waiting to hear that their child is laying in a school on a floor. It is heartbreaking, heartbreaking," Hoyer said Wednesday. "I hope their journey through all of this is a lot faster than ours." ___ Uvalde: Actor Matthew McConaughey was born in Uvalde, Texas, where a gunman killed 19 children and two teachers on Tuesday. He responded by calling on Americans to act now to control an "epidemic" of mass shootings.

"Once again, we have tragically proven that we are failing to be responsible for the rights our freedoms grant us," McConaughey posted on his Instagram account. "We cannot exhale once again, make excuses, and accept these tragic realities as the status quo." The actor doesn't describe any specific laws or policies he wants adopted. He doesn't mention gun control.

"As Americans, Texans, mothers and fathers, it's time we re-evaluate," he wrote. "We have to rearrange our values and find a common ground." "This is an epidemic we can control, and whichever side of the aisle we may stand on, we all know we can do better. We must do better. Action must be taken so that no parent has to experience what the parents in Uvalde and the others before them have endured." ___ Uvalde: Uvalde community members arrived early Wednesday at a civic center where families learned the fate of their loved ones the night before. Volunteers arrived with Bibles and therapy dogs.

A minister says he prayed with families of victims in a hospital waiting room after a gunman killed 19 children and two teachers inside an elementary school classroom in Texas.

Uvalde Memorial Hospital said 13 children were taken there. Another hospital reported a 66-year-old woman was in critical condition.

Pastor Doug Swimmer of the nondenominational Potters House Church told ABC's "Good Morning America" on Wednesday that Uvalde is a tight-knit community where people know their neighbors and see them every day.

Asked what he said to people whose faith may have been shaken by the mass shooting, Swimmer said "I know that one thing that we as Texans understand is that God is still God ... he is able to bring comfort in times of distress." ___ Uvalde: The gunman who killed 19 children and two adults inside an elementary school in Texas an elementary school carried a long rifle with multiple rounds of ammunition and wore a "tactical vest" as body armour, Lt Christopher Olivarez of the Texas Department of Public Safety said.

It "shows the intent of this evil person going into this school and having complete disregard for human life,'' Olivarez told NBC's "Today" show.

All the children and teachers who died were inside a single classroom where the shooter barricaded himself, Olivarez said on CNN.

The San Antonio Express-News reported that the shooter also also bought 375 rounds of ammunition, according to state Senator John Whitmire, who was briefed on the shooting.

___ Uvalde: Authorities are providing more details about the gunman's movements and the police response to the killings of 19 children and two adults at an elementary school. Lt Christopher Olivarez of the Texas Department of Public Safety told NBC's 'Today' show that the Uvalde Police Department was first alerted to a crashed vehicle and an armed person making his way into the school.

Police and state troopers arrived in time to hear gunshots inside a classroom where the man barricaded himself and began shooting children and teachers. Olivarez said some of the officers were shot by the gunman, so others began breaking windows around the school trying to evacuate children and teachers.

Olivarez said "tactical law enforcement" forced their way into the classroom, where "they were met with gunfire as well but they were able to shoot and kill that suspect''.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)