RITES FOR MASSACRE VICTIM

SANTA FE, Texas — Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick called Sunday for a “hardening” of the nation’s school buildings in the wake of the attack by a 17year-old student who killed 10 people at a high school near Houston.

Mr. Patrick, a Republican, blamed a “culture of violence” and said more needs to be done to keep shooters away from students, such as restricting school entrances and arming teachers.

“When you’re facing someone who’s an active shooter, the best way to take that shooter down is with a gun. But even better than that is four to five guns to one,” he told CNN’s “State of the Union.”

On ABC’s “The Week,” Mr. Patrick said he supports background checks for gun purchasers but stressed that “gun regulation starts at home.”

His comments came as congregations in this deeply religious community near Houston gathered Sunday for their first services since a gunman blasted his way into a high school, with one pastor lamenting the grief “that none of us can comprehend.”

Elsewhere, an emotional Kelly Clarkson opened the 2018 Billboard Music Awards in tribute to the recent schoolchildren and teachers who died in Texas, barely able to speak as she urged the audience and the world to do more to prevent deadly shootings from happening.

Just two days after the deaths of eight students and two substitute teachers, graduating seniors also marked the end of the school year with a baccalaureate service that acknowledged the pain wracking Santa Fe, a town of 13,000, while Muslim mourners remembered the life of a slain exchange student from Pakistan.

“They will never be forgotten in this community, these young people, children just going to school,” said the Rev. Brad Drake, pastor of the Dayspring Church, where a service was held that included memories of a slain student who was a congregant there. “We have families today that are grieving a grief that none of us can comprehend.”

Rev. Drake read the names of the dead, including Angelique Ramirez who attended Dayspring and was a member of the church’s youth ministry.

At Arcadia First Baptist Church, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott hugged parishioners as they arrived. Among them was Monica Bracknell, an 18-year-old senior who survived the shooting. She stopped to tell the governor that the attack should not be turned into a political battle over gun control.

Arcadia First Baptist also hosted the baccalaureate service Sunday evening, which was moved from the school auditorium in the wake of the shooting. Santa Fe graduate Aaron Chenoweth gave a short testimony about the trials and tribulations this graduating class had faced.

Meanwhile, hundreds of members of Houston’s Muslim community attended a service for Sabika Sheikh, a 17-year-old exchange student from Pakistan who talked about one day becoming a diplomat.

The suspect in Friday’s shooting, Dimitrios Pagourtzis, also 17, has been jailed on capital murder charges.

Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images Nasir Shenwari, center, holding daughter Aunza, grieves Sunday as the casket of Sabika Sheikh, 17, a Santa Fe High School shooting victim, leaves after a funeral in Stafford, Texas. Sabika was an exchange student from Pakistan. More news on the Santa Fe shooting,

Scott Olson/Getty Images Graduating seniors are recognized during Sunday service at Arcadia First Baptist Church near Santa Fe High School in Santa Fe, Texas. On Friday, 17-year-old student Dimitrios Pagourtzis entered the school with a shotgun and a pistol and opened fire, killing 10 people. Many members of the church attend the school or have family members who attend.