Shared pain unites Uvalde on school massacre anniversary
UVALDE, Texas — The roads might have been closed, the parking spaces blocked, but still they came.
Some walking alone, others in groups, they shuffled their way to the plaza in the center of town, to the memorial reflecting pool with the fountain in the middle.
They were there to commemorate an anniversary no one really wanted to observe.
In this Texas town so wellacquainted with grief, Wednesday marked a year since one of the worst school shootings in the nation's history, when 19 fourth- graders and two teachers were killed by a gunman at Robb Elementary School.
One year later, sorrow still drapes over Uvalde like a cloak, permeating almost every aspect of daily life for the city's 15,000 or so residents.
Uvalde resident Pilar Newberry and her daughters — Victoria, 10; Mia, 8; Chloe, 7; and Penelope, 5 — came to the memorial fountain to pay their respects.
“Having to explain to them what happened was hard,” Newberry, 34, said as she looked at her children. “It broke me as a mom.”
While people across the nation joined in honoring the victims, in Uvalde the day's plans largely called for subdued, quiet remembrances.
At St. Philip's Episcopal Church near downtown, mourners wept Wednesday morning as a violinist played “Over The Rainbow” prior to the release of butterflies in memory of those killed in the Robb Elementary School shooting.
Butterflies represent transformation, a speaker said, prior to the reading of the names of the deceased. Butterflies were then released at 11: 32 a. m., about the time the gunman fired his first shots outside Robb Elementary on May 24, 2022. The church also tolled its bells at 12: 49 p. m., about the time law enforcement officers confronted and killed the shooter.
Family members of the victims were set to host a public vigil. They invited “visitors from all over theworld” to join them.
Mixed in amid the mourning in Uvalde on Wednesday, there was also anger.
Uvalde resident Kim Hammond, 52, was among a group of gun control activists who gathered in Uvalde's town square Wednesday. They carried orange flags that read “21” and “Uvalde Strong,” among other slogans. They were greeted by passing cars that honked in support.
Hammond lives near Robb Elementary School and said while she has no children, she felt as if the kids at the school belonged to her.
“I am still sad and angry, because there's no accountability,” she said. “These aren't just Uvalde's kids, these are the nation's children.”
President Joe Biden paid tribute to the victims by reflecting on his time visiting their families and renewing a call for gun safety legislation that has gone nowhere in Congress.
Speaking at the White House with a candle lit for each of the dead surrounding him, Biden reflected on being at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Uvalde after the killings and recounted the pain the families were struggling through.
“God bless those 21 blessed souls lost on this day in Uvalde and may God bless their families. We're thinking of you,” Biden said with first lady Jill Biden at his side.
But Biden also used the sevenminute speech to express frustration at lawmakers' refusal to do more to address gun violence in America. He said there has been some action but not nearly enough to address a problem that is turning everyday places into “killing fields.”
“We can't end this epidemic until Congress passes some commonsense gun safety laws and keep weapons of war off our streets and out of the hands of dangerous people,” Biden said.
More specifically, he said he wants to see universal background checks to buy guns and national red flag laws to keep weapons out of the hands of people who are a danger to harm themselves. He also renewed his call for safe storage laws for firearms and ending immunity from liability for gun manufacturers.
At the Texas Legislature on Wednesday morning, state Sen. Roland Gutierrez, a San Antonio Democrat whose district includes Uvalde, presented several memorial resolutions honoring the victims.
“Today we rise to honor the people we lost that day. We ask God to protect them,” Gutierrez said.
The senator has spent the past year pressing for gun safety measures, including legislation thatwould raise the age to purchase assault- style weapons from 18 to 21. The Uvalde gunman was 18 and had purchased his weapon days after his birthday.
Texas Republicans have instead focused on bolstering school security and increasing funding for mental health services, especially in rural areas.
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, the head of the Senate, said the resolutions were “the finest memorial service … that we've ever had on this chamber floor.”