Fifteen people have died in a shooting at a primary school in Texas, says Governor Greg Abbott.
The 18-year-old gunman killed 14 students and one teacher at Robb Elementary School in the city of Uvalde.
The governor said the suspect was armed with a handgun and possibly a rifle in the attack.
Governor Abbott says the suspect is deceased, and it is believed that responding officers killed him.
The public were asked to stay away as police investigate the crime scene.
Shootings at primary schools, where pupils range in age from five to 11, are still relatively rare.
The attack on Tuesday comes amid a national rise in gun violence.
Governor Abbott identified the attacker as a local 18-year old, who he said “shot and killed, horrifically, incomprehensibly, 14 students and killed a teacher”.
“He himself is deceased, and it is believed that responding officers killed him,” he added.
“It is believed that two responding officers were struck by rounds, but have no serious injuries.”
The gunman may have also killed his grandmother at the beginning of the shooting rampage, according to local US media. He may have been a local high school student, according to CBS, the BBC’s partner in the US.
A police spokesman in Uvalde said that the attacker “did act alone during this heinous crime”.
The Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District – around 85 miles (135km) west of the city of San Antonio – told the BBC that students had been evacuated from the school to a local community centre . Just under 500 pupils are enrolled in the school.
Local hospitals disclosed that students from the school were being treated by emergency services.
A 66-year-old woman and a 10-year old girl are being treated at a hospital in San Antonio, and are both in a critical condition, University Health hospital officials say.
The Uvalde Memorial Hospital posted on Facebook that 13 children had been taken to hospital “via ambulances or buses”.
Two “individuals” were dead when they arrived at hospital, the Facebook post said earlier.
Uvalde Mayor Don McLaughlin told ABC News in a text message “this is a very bad situation”.
The FBI is aiding in the investigation, according to CBS.
US President Joe Biden has been briefed on the attack, White House officials said, and is monitoring developments.
The last day of classes for students in the school district was scheduled for Thursday. Seniors at the local high school in Uvalde, a community of about 16,000 residents, are due to graduate on Friday.
