Pope Francis on Wednesday said he was “heartbroken” over the school shooting in Texas which left at least 19 children and two teachers dead, and condemned the arms trade.

“I am left heartbroken by the massacre in the elementary school in Texas. I pray for the children, for the adults killed and for their families,” the Argentine pontiff said after his weekly general audience.

“It is time to say enough to indiscriminate arms trafficking. Let us all commit to ensuring such tragedies can no longer take place.”

The attack in Uvalde, a small community about an hour from the Mexican border, was the deadliest US school shooting in years, and the latest in a spree of bloody gun violence across America.

More than a dozen children were also wounded in the attack at the school, which teaches more than 500, mostly Hispanic and economically disadvantaged students.

AFP