Children killed in Texas elementary school shooting were barricaded in classroom with killer

The gunman legally brought two AR-style rifles just days before the attack, soon after his 18th birthday

The archbishop of San Antonio, Gustavo Garcia-Siller, comforts families. Picture: Dario Lopez-Mills/AP

The 18-year-old gunman who killed 19 children and two teachers at a Texas school barricaded himself inside a single classroom and “began shooting anyone that was in his way”, authorities said on Wednesday as they detailed the latest mass killing to rock the US.

Law enforcement officers eventually broke into the classroom and killed the gunman, who used an AR-style rifle.