Students at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, were preparing for a dress-up ceremony to mark the end of the school year when the deadly mass shooting took place.
Students there had two days left of school before their summer break when the shooting took place on Tuesday.
The school had planned numerous activities for the students before the break, according to a calendar on the school's Facebook page.
One such event was an award ceremony on Tuesday, where the students were invited to dress up to a "footloose and fancy" theme, Reuters reported.
Robb Elementary School did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.
A shooter, identified as an 18-year-old man, opened fire after 12 p.m. local time, school officials said. By 1 p.m., the gunman had been killed by law enforcement, police said. Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District chief of police Pete Arredondo said the shooter acted alone.
As of Wednesday morning, at least 19 children and two adults were confirmed dead. It is the deadliest elementary-school shooting since Sandy Hook in 2012.
In a press conference, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said that the shooter lived in the area and drove to Robb Elementary School, abandoning his vehicle when he arrived.
Officials said they recovered two AR-15-style rifles from the scene at the elementary school, the Houston Chronicle reported.
During a press conference on Tuesday, Superintendent Hal Harrell said that "the school year is done" and that all school activities were canceled.
"We know graduation is on people's minds — we'll come out with a statement about that later," Harrell said, adding that the district would provide grief counseling on Wednesday.
"We're a small community and we'll need your prayers to get us through this," he said.
The school district's website also posted a chilling message immediately after the shooting, saying: "You will be notified to pick up students once all are accounted for."
