US President Joe Biden slammed America's gun lobby after the latest deadly school shooting.
At least 19 children and two adults have been reported dead after a teenage gunman opened fire at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas.
The shooting is the deadliest at a US primary school since the infamous Sandy Hook shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, in which 20 children and six adults were killed almost a decade ago.
The gunman, 18-year-old Salvador Ramos, died at the scene.
Joe Biden and mourners at the scene
Reuters
President Biden angrily hit out at the gun lobby after the shooting and called for action.
He tweeted: "These kinds of mass shootings rarely happen elsewhere in the world.
<p>A woman offering hugs and prayers embraces a Texas Ranger outside the Ssgt Willie de Leon Civic Center, where students had been transported from Robb Elementary School after a shooting, in Uvalde, Texas, US<br></p><p><br></p>
MARCO BELLO
"Why are we willing to live with this carnage? Why do we keep letting this happen?
"Where in God’s name is our backbone to have the courage to deal with it? It’s time to turn this pain into action."
He also said in an address at the White House: "When in God's name are we going to stand up to the gun lobby?"
Matthew McConaughey said the spate of mass shootings across America is “an epidemic we can control” as he led tributes to the victims of the tragedy in his Texas hometown.
The actor said “whichever side of the aisle we may stand on, we all know we can do better” in a statement online.
James Corden, Taylor Swift, Amy Schumer and Chris Evans were also among the famous faces expressing “rage and grief” in the wake of Tuesday’s atrocity.
