Uvalde, Texas elementary school shooting: Georgia lawmakers react

ATLANTA - Georgia's lawmakers are responding to the deadly mass shooting at a Texas elementary school on Tuesday.

At least 18 students and a teacher were killed inside Robb Elementary School in tiny Texas town just 75 miles from the border of Mexico. The deceased children are said to be 2nd, 3rd and 4th graders, approximately 7, 8 and 9-year-olds.

UVALDE, TEXAS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL SHOOTING: THE LATEST

An additional 13 children were transported to the hospital Tuesday morning.

The shooter is believed to be 18-year-old Salvador Ramos, Fox News reported. He was reportedly a student at a local high school. He was killed by responding officers.

Gov. Brian Kemp

Gov. Brian Kemp has asked the entire state of Georgia to join in prayer for the victims in Uvalde, Texas. In a statement tweeted by Gov. Kemp on Tuesday afternoon he wrote:

"Marty, the girls, and I are heartbroken over news from Uvalde, Tx. For children and innocent adults, including a school teacher, to be taken from this world in suck a depraved, violent way, it is incomprehensible. We are lifting up the families of those victims, the first responders on the scene, and the entire community in prayer."

Former Sen. David Perdue

Former Sen. David Perdue added his call for prayer:

"Bonnie and I are heartbroken by the tragedy in Uvalde and are praying for the victims and their families."

Stacey Abrams

Stacey Abrams, who was poised Tuesday to accept her party's nomination as their candidate for Georgia governor, released a statement expressing her grief over the mass shooting. She tweeted:

"To the families of Uvalde, we weep with you in your grief and ask for God’s solace for your unfathomable pain. May your angels be lifted up to spite the darkness that took them. And may the light of reason and compassion save the lives of others in their namesake."

Rep. Lucy McBath

Rep. Lucy McBath, who represents Georgia’s 6th Congressional District, released her own statement on the mass shooting. The Democratic Congresswoman became an advocate for stricter gun laws after her son, Jordan Davis, was fatally shot at a Florida gas station in 2012 by a man angry over loud music the teenager and his friends were playing in a car.

Her statement reads:

"Again in America, more families will now be forced to live forever with the pain of losing their precious children to unspeakable, senseless gun violence in a place where they should have been safe, happy, and free.

"At a time when this nation is still reeling from the pain of recent shootings, we are faced with another sickening, preventable tragedy in Texas.

"We are better than this. We have to be better than this. We cannot be the only nation where we pay for the weapons of war in our streets with the blood of our children sitting in our schools.

"We have to do something to fix this. We can do something to help fix this. We must do something to keep guns out of the hands of those who should not have them.

"It’s imperative we act, and act now. I will never rest until we do."

LAWMAKERS, OTHERS REACT TO LATEST CASE OF MASS GUN VIOLENCE

Sen. Raphael Warnock

Democratic Senator Raphael Warnock, who is also pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, tweeted he is praying:

"As a father of two young children, this tragedy is horrific and numbing. I'm praying that God surrounds the victims, their families and community with abundant love and healing."

President Joe Biden has ordered flags to be flown at half-staff through sundown on Saturday.