Families say goodbye at first visitations for victims of Texas school shooting
- Two teachers and 19 children were killed by gunman Salvador Ramos at a primary school in Uvalde, Texas on May 24
- The US Department of Justice has announced a review of the emergency response. Police have come under heavy criticism for taking well over an hour to kill Ramos
It should have been the first day of a joyous week for Robb Elementary School pupils – the start of summer break. Instead, the first two of 19 children killed inside a classroom were being remembered at visitations.
The gathering for 10-year-old Amerie Jo Garza was at Hillcrest Memorial Funeral Home on Monday in Uvalde, Texas, directly across from the school where the children, along with two teachers, were shot last week before the gunman himself was killed. Visitation for another 10-year-old, Maite Rodriguez, was at the town’s other funeral home. Visitation gives family and friends an opportunity to pay respects before formal the funeral.
Over the next two-and-a-half traumatic weeks, people in the southwestern Texas town will say goodbye to the children and their teachers, one heart-wrenching visitation, funeral and burial after another. As family and friends unleash their grief, investigators will push for answers about how police responded to the May 24 shooting, and politicians have said they will consider what can be done to stem the gun violence permeating the nation.
This week alone, funerals are planned for 11 children and teacher Irma Garcia.
On Monday, some mourners at Amerie’s visitation wore lilac or lavender shades of purple – Amerie’s favourite colours – at the request of her stepfather, Angel Garza. Many carried in flowers, including purple ones.
The little girl who loved to draw had just received a mobile phone for her 10th birthday. One of her friends told Angel Garza that Amerie tried to use the phone to call the police during the assault on her fourth-grade classroom.
Among the mourners at Amerie’s visitation were some of Maite’s relatives. Like many people, they were attending both.