Uvalde crowds chant ‘do something’ during President Biden’s visit
President Biden and first lady Jill Biden offered comfort to the Uvalde community after a mass shooting left 19 children and two teachers dead.
Patrick Colson-Price, Associated Press
UVALDE, Texas — Funeral directors, morticians, florists and others from around Texas arrived this week to help as the first funerals begin Tuesday for the 19 students and two teachers killed last week at Robb Elementary School.
Jimmy Lucas, president of the Texas Funeral Directors Association, told NBC News he brought a hearse and volunteered to work as a driver or help in any way. Former Uvalde resident Leslie Garza, a florist based in San Antonio, told NPR she drove down to volunteer with a group putting together floral arrangements.
Nineteen of those killed will be laid to rest in caskets customized by Trey Ganem and his son, who are based in Edna, Texas, and worked over the three-day weekend to finish, CNN reported.
The first two funerals were set for Tuesday afternoon and evening, following visitations on Monday at the town’s two funeral homes whereAmerie Jo Garza, 10, was remembered as an “outgoing and funny” child who “wanted to help everyone else out,” and Maite Rodríguez, 10, was described as “smart, bright, beautiful, happy” and dreamed of being a marine biologist.
The services, which are expected to continue for the next two weeks, come as Uvalde grapples with law enforcement’s admittedly flawed response to the May 24 shooting at Robb Elementary School.
The National Rifle Association is accustomed to drawing national attention amid calls for gun-safety legislation following mass shootings. But a handful of other gun-rights groups also hold significant sway in the nation’s capital, where they fork over millions to lobbyists each year to help persuade legislators and policymakers to take their side on issues they care about.
Gun-rights advocacy organizations spent a record $15.8 million on lobbying last year, according to an analysis by Open Secrets, a nonpartisan nonprofit that tracks lobbying and campaign contributions. Since 1998, the industry has spent nearly $200 million on federal lobbying.
The top spender last year was not the NRA, which held its annual convention over the weekend. That spot went to the National Shooting Sports Foundation, which paid lobbyists $5 million in 2021. Read more here.
— Donovan Slack and Chelsey Cox, USA TODAY
Uvalde school district police chief Pete Arredondo, who led the law enforcement response to the mass shooting, was set to be sworn in as a newly elected city council member Tuesday, but Mayor Don McLaughlin said Monday that would not happen.
“Our focus on Tuesday is on our families who lost loved ones,” McLaughlin said in a statement Monday provided to USA TODAY. “We begin burying our children tomorrow, the innocent victims of last week’s murders at Robb Elementary School.”
It was not immediately clear if Arredondo would be sworn in at a later time or if it would be done privately. He was one of three council members scheduled to be sworn in Tuesday.
“Pete Arredondo was duly elected to the City Council,” McLaughlin said. “There is nothing in the City Charter, Election Code, or Texas Constitution that prohibits him from taking the oath of office. To our knowledge, we are currently not aware of any investigation of Mr. Arredondo.”
At a stunning news conference Friday, Director of the Texas Department of Public Safety Steven McCraw said not confronting the gunman after two officers received grazing wounds following an initial encounter was “the wrong decision.”
“Clearly there were kids in the room. Clearly they were at risk,” McCraw said.
Unimaginable loss: A look at the 19 children and two teachers who were killed
At Monday’s visitation for Amerie, mourners wore shades of purple, her favorite color, at the request of her stepfather, Angel Garza. At Maite’s visitation, family wore green tie-dye shirts with an illustration showing the 10-year-old with angel wings.
A dozen funerals are planned this week for those killed in the shooting, 11 for students and one for teacher Irma Garcia. In total, the gunman killed 21 people.
Over Memorial Day weekend, hundreds of Uvalde residents and visitors from surrounding communities cycled through the Uvalde Town Square in the majority Latino community of 16,000 about 75 miles west of San Antonio. Churches from Uvalde and neighboring cities organized prayer vigils at the square.
Visitors wore maroon and blue shirts emblazoned with Uvalde Strong or the Uvalde High School Coyotes mascot and wiped away tears as they embraced each other and paid their respects.
Dan Hinojosa, pit master and owner of Harris County General Store Barbecue Company, on Monday said he drove down early to set up a food tent near one of the funeral homes and town square.
“My heart goes out to the community and we are just out here trying to spread love,” Hinojosa said.
Other community members put together car washes and plate sales to help raise money for families. On the roads around the elementary school, residents were handing out cold water and teddy bears to visitors. Support from across the country resulted in millions of dollars raised on GoFundMe.
“The pain is palpable,” President Joe Biden said Monday after a trip to Uvalde where he met with families of the victims.
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Biden said he plans to continue to push for gun safety regulations, as a bipartisan group of about 10 senators have met to discuss possible legislation.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., also said last week he wanted Republican lawmakers to work with Democrats on legislation “directly related” to the Uvalde shooting.
The three topics they discussed included background checks for guns purchased online or at gun shows, red flag laws designed to keep guns away from those who could harm themselves or others and programs to bolster security at schools and other buildings.
The gunman in the Uvalde shooting legally purchased two rifles after his 18th birthday, police said. He was armed with more than 1,000 rounds of ammunition, and more than 140 spent cartridges were found inside the school, according to law enforcement.
Contributing: Rafael Carranza and Donovan Slack, USA TODAY; The Associated Press
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