'It's time to die,' Texas gunman said as he entered classroom, survivor recalls

Child survivors recount horrifying events at Rob Elementary School in Uvalde

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  Alanna De Leon writes the name of her friend, Annabelle Rodriguez, who died in the shooting. AFP

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  Pallbearers carry the coffin of Amerie Jo Garza into Sacred Heart Catholic Church. AP

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  Pallbearers carry the coffin of Amerie Jo Garza, who died in the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School. AFP

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  A memorial in Town Square, Uvalde, Texas, for victims of the Robb Elementary school shooting. Reuters

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  A woman places a rose on Layla Salazar’s memorial cross, who was one of the victims that died in the shooting. Reuters

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  Bags with brisket sandwiches and a snack that will be sold at a fundraiser for families of the victims. Reuters

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  Ashtyn Leigh, 18, hands a man a brisket meal. Reuters

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  A choir sings in front of the memorial. Reuters

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  People pray in front of memorial crosses. Reuters

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  Nineteen children and two adults were killed in the shooting. AFP

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  People visit a memorial for the victims. AFP

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  Flowers are left outside the school. AFP

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  Twenty-one empty chairs are seen outside of a daycare center as a memorial for the victims. AP Photo

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  Football teammates of Tess Mata, who died in the Texas school shooting, cry as they visit a makeshift memorial outside the Uvalde County Courthouse. AFP

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  A football teammate of shooting victim Tess Mata cries, supported by her mother. AFP

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  Texas police faced angry questions over why it took an hour to stop the gunman who murdered 19 children and two teachers in Uvalde, as video emerged of desperate parents begging officers to storm the school. AFP

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  Activists join Senate Democrats outside the Capitol, in Washington, to demand action on gun control legislation after the killings at the Texas elementary school this week. AP

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  The George R Brown Convention Centre, site of the National Rifle Association annual convention. Days after the deadliest mass school shooting in Texas history, the gun lobbyist group is meeting in Houston, from Friday until Sunday. Reuters

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  Pastor Carlos Contreras preaches to his congregation as photos of some of the children killed in the mass shooting at Robb Elementary flash on the screen at Primera Iglesia Bautista, in Uvalde. Reuters

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  People march after a vigil held to stand with the Uvalde families and demand an end to gun violence in Newtown, Connecticut. AP

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  A woman holds up a banner at the end of the vigil in Newtown, Connecticut. AP

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  Newtown was the scene of the 2012 attack at Sandy Hook Elementary School, when 20 pupils and six teachers were killed by a gunman. AP

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  Candles are lit for each victim as people pray at St Philip's Episcopal Church. EPA

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  A makeshift memorial in front of Robb Elementary School. AFP

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  Omahar Padillo with his son Omahar Jr, 12, during a community prayer, in Pharr, Texas, for the shooting victims at Robb Elementary School. AP

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  Omahar Padillo Jr, 12, and his sister Samantha, 9, with their mother, Silvia Padillo, write messages in support of the victims at Robb Elementary School. AP

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  A vigil for the victims of the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School. AFP

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  A young mourner at the vigil in Uvalde, Texas. AFP

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  Families at the vigil. AFP

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  A woman holds a photo of Nevaeh Bravo, who was killed in the mass shooting, during a vigil for the victims of the massacre in Uvalde, Texas. AFP

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  Uvalde County Sheriff Ruben Nolasco is comforted by Senator Ted Cruz during a vigil at the Uvalde County Fairplex Arena. AP

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  Diana Karau of Uvalde with a therapy dog named Tritan before a vigil to honour those killed at Robb Elementary. AP

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  Gun-control advocates Dana Cibulski, left, and Judi Giannini attend a vigil outside the National Rifle Association headquarters in Fairfax, Virginia after the mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas. AFP

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  Uziyah Garcia, 8, was among those killed in the shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. AP

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  Pastor Jaime Cabralez, the uncle of shooting victim 10-year-old Eliahana Cruz Torres, is surrounded in prayer at his church in Uvalde, Texas on Wednesday. Reuters

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  A woman embraces a child outside Willie de Leon Civic Centre, in Uvalde, where pupils were taken after the school shooting. Bloomberg

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  Gun-control advocates hold a vigil outside the National Rifle Association (NRA) headquarters in Fairfax, Virginia. AFP

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  A woman and child leave the Civic Centre. Reuters

Young survivors of the massacre at a Texas primary school have begun to share their stories, including a boy who hid centimetres away from the gunman and a girl who said she covered herself with a friend's blood and pretended to be dead while she waited for help to arrive.

A 9-year-old fourth grader at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde told KCEN-TV about how he hid under a table while the gunman killed his friends.

The killer opened the classroom door, “then he came in and he crouched a little bit and he said, 'It's time to die'", the child told the central Texas news station.

“When he shot, it was very loud and it hurt my ears.”

The boy said that a police officer told the children to yell if they needed help. One girl did so and the gunman immediately shot and killed her, the boy said.

Police then killed the attacker, 18-year-old Salvador Ramos.

Miah Cerrillo, 11, told CNN that she and a friend called 911 from her dead teacher's phone and waited for officers to arrive.

Ramos was inside the school for more than an hour before he was shot to death by Border Patrol tactical officers. Authorities said he fired more than 100 rounds during the attack.

Officers on Friday attempted to clear up their version of a confusing and sometimes contradictory chronology of events that has angered and frustrated the parents and onlookers who had urged police to charge into the school.

The children who survived the attack, in which 19 children and two teachers were killed, described a festive, end-of-the-school-year day that quickly turned to terror.

Samuel Salinas, 10, told ABC's Good Morning America that he and other classmates pretended to be dead after Ramos opened fire on the class. Samuel was struck by shrapnel in his thigh.

“He shot the teacher and then he shot the kids,” said Samuel, who was in Irma Garcia's class. Garcia died in the attack and her husband, Joe Garcia, died on Thursday of an apparent heart attack.

Gemma Lopez, 10, was in a classroom down the hall when Ramos entered the building. She told Good Morning America that a bullet came through her classroom wall before any lockdown was called.

Her best friend, Amerie Garza, died in the rampage.

The Associated Press continued to this report

Esmeralda Bravo, 63, sheds tears while holding a photo of her granddaughter, Nevaeh, one of the Robb Elementary School shooting victims. AP