Girl, 11, tells US Congress how she covered herself in blood to survive Texas school shooting
- Miah Cerrillo recounted how she watched her teacher get shot during the Uvalde school massacre that killed 19 children and two adults
- The Democratic-led House is expected to pass legislation for gun control, but it has almost no chance of becoming law
An 11-year-old girl who survived the mass shooting at an junior school in Uvalde, Texas, recounted in video testimony to Congress on Wednesday how she covered herself with a dead classmate’s blood to avoid being shot and “just stayed quiet”.
Miah Cerrillo, a fourth-grader at Robb Elementary School, told lawmakers in a pre-recorded video that she watched a teacher get shot in the head before looking for a place to hide.
“I thought he would come back so I covered myself with blood,” Miah told the House panel. “I put it all over me and I just stayed quiet.” She called emergency services using the deceased teacher’s phone and pleaded for help.
Nineteen children and two teachers died when an 18-year-old gunman opened fire with an AR-15-style rifle inside Robb Elementary School on May 24.
It was the second day lawmakers heard wrenching testimony on the nation’s gun violence. On Tuesday, a Senate panel heard from the son of an 86-year-old woman killed when a gunman opened fire in a racist attack on Black shoppers in Buffalo, New York, on May 14. Ten people died.
In the video on Wednesday, Miah’s father, Miguel Cerillo, asked his daughter if she feels safe at school any more. She shook her head no.