Vice President Kamala Harris, former President Barack Obama, NBA superstar LeBron James and more are speaking out in the wake of Tuesday’s tragic shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, that left 19 children and 2 adults dead.
According to USA Today, the 18-year-old gunman, who was a student at Uvalde High School, was wearing body armor and fired hundreds of rounds into Robb Elementary before he was shot and killed by a U.S. Border Patrol agent. In a series of tweets, Vice President Kamala Harris addressed the shooting, writing on Tuesday night:
“Tonight in Uvalde, Texas, there are parents who lost children. Families who have lost loved ones. And many who have been injured. As a nation, we must have the courage to take action and prevent this from ever happening again. To the people of Uvalde: Please know that we grieve with you. We are praying for you. And we stand with you.”
She concluded, “Enough is enough. As a nation, we must have the courage to take action and prevent this from ever happening again. It is long past time for our country to stand up to the gun lobby and pass reasonable gun safety laws.”
President Barack Obama also expressed his sadness over the ordeal and called for serious actions to be taken.
“Across the country, parents are putting their children to bed, reading stories, singing lullabies—and in the back of their minds, they’re worried about what might happen tomorrow after they drop their kids off at school, or take them to a grocery store or any other public space,” he began on Twitter.
He continued: “Michelle and I grieve with the families in Uvalde, who are experiencing pain no one should have to bear. We’re also angry for them. Nearly ten years after Sandy Hook—and ten days after Buffalo—our country is paralyzed, not by fear, but by a gun lobby and a political party that have shown no willingness to act in any way that might help prevent these tragedies. It’s long past time for action, any kind of action. And it’s another tragedy—a quieter but no less tragic one—for families to wait another day. May God bless the memory of the victims, and in the words of Scripture, heal the brokenhearted and bind up their wounds.”
In a pair of tweets, LeBron James shared his own thoughts on the tragedy.
“My thoughts and prayers goes out to the families of love ones loss & injured at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, TX!,” the 18-time NBA All-Star wrote. “Like when is enough enough man!!! These are kids and we keep putting them in harms way at school. Like seriously ‘AT SCHOOL’ where it’s suppose to be the safest! There simply has to be change! HAS TO BE!!.. Praying to the heavens above to all with kids these days in schools.”
James, along with Steph Curry also later shared a video of Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr giving a passionate speech ahead of Tuesdays game, urging U.S senators to make serious moves against these mass shootings.
Dr. Bernice King, daughter of civil rights icon Martin Luther King Jr., initially wrote: “I’ve deleted drafts and some tweets I’d already sent. I’m struggling with what to share. It’s just so devastating and grossly irresponsible. Horrifically cruel thoughts and prayers that don’t get matched with needed legislation. 18 children.”
She later reflected:
“We are mourning. Black people sought and slaughtered in #Buffalo. Children and teachers gunned down at school in #Uvalde. Persistent racism and gun violence throughout the nation. And today, we remember #GeorgeFloyd, who should be alive raising his daughter.”
Abbott Elementary creator and star Quinta Brunson also expressed her sadness and frustration over the matter, writing in a series of tweets: “Insane that we just keep living like this. Really don’t want to. Tired of gun violence. Tired of tweeting about this. How useless. Every time this happens I watch the conversation move toward the why. Mental health, race, class, domestic dispute etc. I kind of can’t stand that because all it does is protect the only constant in each case: a gun. Sick to my stomach tonight over the love affair America has with guns.”
National Youth Poet Laureate Amanda Gorman penned a powerful short poem speaking to the horror of the moment, writing on Twitter: “Schools scared to death. The truth is, one education under desks, Stooped low from bullets; That plunge when we ask Where our children Shall live & how & if.”
She later added, “It takes a monster to kill children. But to watch monsters kill children again and again and do nothing isn’t just insanity—it’s inhumanity. The truth is, one nation under guns. What might we be if only we tried. What might we become if only we’d listen.”
Added Missy Elliot, “We living in some TRYING TIMES… It’s Heavy…I am praying for everyone that is struggling MENTALLY/FINANCIALLY/PHYSICALLY that some PEACE be RESTORED! So many in the world is dealing with pain & I don’t have the answers but I send you LOVE virtually.”
Migos rapper and husband to Cardi B. Offset also tweeted: “Prayers for the people in Texas man those are kids that were killed smh this world needs God smh.”
Rapper and activist Trae tha Truth also shared how he declined an invite to the White House to instead help those who have been affected by the mass shootings in Texas and Buffalo.
“I was invited to the White House today to meet with the president with the families of those who have wrongfully been murdered by police. But the people of Buffalo NY are in really in need as well as the families of the children murdered in Uvalde...So I will have to pass, I will be in the field with the people in need.”