(Uvalde, Texas) The commemoration in memory of the victims of the massacre where 19 elementary school children and two teachers perished last Tuesday continues in the small town of Uvalde, Texas. US President Joe Biden has arrived to offer support to the families.
Posted at 11:55 a.m.
Updated at 1:20 p.m.
New crosses appeared all over Uvalde on Sunday in memory of the 21 victims of last Tuesday’s shooting at Rodd Elementary School. Dozens of people are gathered in the square in the center of the small town of some 16,000 inhabitants. A religious choir sings hymns, while visitors continue to lay flowers on the crosses arranged around the central fountain. These are now buried under flowers, stuffed animals, balloons. Many lanterns were lit.
In the small square, several prayer groups offer their services. Visitors and community members walk around. The faces are long and tears are furtively wiped away.
Photo Evan Vucci, Associated Press
President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden gather in front of the photos of the victims.
US President Joe Biden and US First Lady Jill Biden arrived in the once uneventful small town to offer their condolences and support to the families. They first showed up at Robb Elementary School, where a sniper broke in last Tuesday with two guns, barricaded himself in a classroom and shot 19 fourth graders and two female teachers in cold blood.
They must then attend a Catholic mass before meeting the bereaved families. At the end of the day, an interview with the police is also planned.
Recall that Uvalde County voted 59.7% for Donald Trump in the last US presidential election, in 2020. President Joe Biden won 39.4% of the vote.
In the surroundings, several counties voted blue in the last elections, in particular that of San Antonio (main city of the region), and all the counties in the south adjoining the Mexican border. In Uvalde itself, Donald Trump won with a smaller lead than in several counties further north.