(Uvalde, Texas) US President Joe Biden and US First Lady Jill Biden traveled to Uvalde, Texas on Sunday to comfort bereaved families. Visitors from all over the surrounding area have gathered in the hope of catching a glimpse of them.
Posted at 11:55 a.m.
Updated at 5:33 p.m.
An electric atmosphere circulates in Uvalde on Sunday, for the tour of American President Joe Biden and the First Lady of the United States Jill Biden. Visitors from many Texas cities from as far away as Austin and Houston – hundreds of miles away – came out for the occasion.
And the gun debate, hitherto muted in the bereaved small town where residents told The Press that they preferred to avoid the political divide, ignited with the arrival of several anti-arms activists who came to apostrophize the American president.
The Biden couple first went to Robb Elementary School, on the outskirts of downtown, to pay their respects to the 19 students and two teachers killed in the shooting on Tuesday. After arriving at the school, the president stopped in front of a memorial of 21 white crosses – one for each of those killed. The first lady added a bouquet of white flowers to others in front of the school sign.
PHOTO EVAN VUCCI, ASSOCIATED PRESS
President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden gather in front of the photos of the victims.
The Bidens also saw individual altars erected in memory of each student. The first lady touched their photos as the couple moved along the row.
A mass in memory of the victims
After visiting the memorial, the couple went to mass at the Catholic Church of the Sacred Heart, a sand-colored brick building nestled under tall trees in another quiet part of town. On the spot, some of the families of the victims were praying.
“I thought they were such a wonderful couple to represent our country,” said Mede Stephens, a member of the Art of Living organization, after mass. She and her colleague Shirley Harmison are in town to provide post-traumatic support to the medical teams who responded to the victims of the shooting.
A crowd of about 100 people gathered outside the church, behind the heavily guarded security perimeter. For nearly an hour, in sweltering heat of more than 36 degrees, people everywhere stood in the sun, hoping to catch a glimpse of the president. “I just hope he’s here for the families, not for the show,” says Anson Bills, a father of three, including 8-year-old Adam, a pupil at Robb Elementary School. Fortunately, the boy was at the dentist on the fateful Tuesday.
A fiery debate
The Biden couple exited the church and eventually walked on the outskirts of the crowd before getting into their limo, raising spirits. Dozens of people pressed against each other to better see and film their passage. ” Do something ! “, also chanted some people present, in reference to access to firearms. “We will,” replied the president.
PHOTO DARIO LOPEZ-MILLS, ASSOCIATED PRESS
But this position did not please everyone. In the crowd, a very moved woman shouted: “Shut up! Shut up, get out of my town! “, before bursting into tears.
The Bidens then went to the auditorium at the Fairplex Center in Uvalde to meet with families affected by the tragedy. Media are not permitted on the premises.
Mr. Biden was also due to meet with stakeholders at the airport before returning to Washington. We did not expect him to make formal remarks.
The commemoration continues
The celebrations in memory of the victims of the massacre continued in parallel with the visit of the American president. New crosses appeared all over Uvalde on Sunday. From the morning, dozens of people are gathered in the square in the center of the small town of some 16,000 inhabitants, once uneventful. People then gathered along the main street to watch the president’s motorcade pass.
Choir, food and prayers: 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. The faces are long and tears are furtively wiped away.
The visit to Uvalde was President Biden’s second trip in as many weeks to console a grieving community after a shooting. He traveled to Buffalo, New York, on May 17 to meet with families of victims and condemn white supremacy after a gunman espousing the racist ‘great replacement’ theory killed 10 people in a supermarket.
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.