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The gathering for 10-year-old Amerie Jo Garza at Hillcrest Memorial Funeral Home Monday in Uvalde, Texas, was directly across from the elementary school where the children, along with two teachers, were shot dead last week before the gunman himself was killed. killing. It was a visit to 10-year-old Mighty Rodriguez at the town’s other funeral home.
Over the next two and a half weeks of trauma, people in a southwest Texas town would say goodbye to the children and their teachers, a heart-wrenching visit, one funeral and one burial after another. As family and friends unleash their grief, investigators will push for answers about how police responded to the May 24 shootings, and lawmakers said they will consider what can be done to stop the gun violence that is spreading in the country.
This week alone, the funerals of 11 children and teacher Irma Garcia have been planned.
On Monday, some mourners visiting Amiri wore shades of lilac or lilac – my prince’s favorite – at the request of her father, Angel Garza. Many of them carried flowers, including purple flowers.
The little girl who loved to draw just received a cell phone for her tenth birthday. One of her friends told Angel Garza that Amiri had tried to use the phone to call the police during the assault on her fourth-grade classroom.
Among the mourners of Ameri’s visit were some of Maiti’s relatives. Like many people, they were attending both.
The Mighty family wore green tie-dyed shirts with an illustration showing Mighty with angel wings. Before going to the funeral home, they stopped at the trench to see the metal gate striker Salvador Ramos crashed into a pickup truck before crossing the field and entering the school.
“How did it go all this time?” asked Juana Magana, Mighty’s aunt.
Hillcrest Memorial itself and the shooting will be linked forever. After Ramos crashed the truck, two men at the funeral home heard the accident and ran toward the scene. Ramos shot them. He missed it and both men reached safety.
Elahna “Ellie” Garcia’s funeral will take place on June 6 – the day after she turns 10. Her family was preparing for a big birthday party at her grandmother’s house next weekend. She was hoping to receive gifts related to the Disney movie “Encanto”.
“I loved this movie and talked about it a lot,” said her aunt, Seria Arizmendi.
Elle was quiet even around family but loved shooting videos and was already practicing with her older sister choreography for the Quinceanera party — celebrating the girl’s 15th birthday — even though it was still five years away, Arizmendi said.
Arizmendi said Ellie’s older sister is fine, they have a long road to recovery.
“It’s just so sad for all the kids,” she said.
Funeral directors, embalmers, and others from all over Texas arrived to help. Jimmy Lucas, president of the Texas Funeral Directors Association, reincarnated and volunteered to work as a chauffeur, provide services, or do whatever he could, he said. Other mortuary technicians were there to assist with the facial reconstruction services due to the damage caused by the military-style archer rifle.
Governor Greg Abbott, speaking at a Memorial Day event in Longview, urged Texans to keep Ovaldi in their prayers.
“What happened in Ovaldi was an appalling act of evil,” Abbott said. “And as Texans, we must come together and lift up Uvaldi and support them in every way we can. It will take time to heal the devastation the families there have been through and are still going through, but rest assured, we won’t relent until Uvaldi recovers.”
On Sunday, the US Department of Justice announced a review of the response of law enforcement authorities. Police came under fire for taking more than an hour to kill Ramos inside the adjacent classroom as he unleashed the massacre.
Officials revealed Friday that students and teachers repeatedly called 911 workers for help, with the police chief telling more than a dozen officers to wait in the hallway. Officials said the commander believed the suspect was holed up inside an adjacent classroom and that there was no longer an active attack.
The revelations raised new questions about whether lives were lost because officers did not move faster to stop the gunman, who was eventually killed by Border Patrol tactical officers.
Authorities said Ramos legally purchased two handguns shortly before the school attack: an AR rifle on May 17 and a second shotgun on May 20. He was already 18 years old, which allows him to purchase guns under federal law.
A day after Yuvaldi visited and vowed “we will” in response to people chanting “Do something,” President Joe Biden on Monday expressed some optimism that there might be some bipartisan support for tighter restrictions on the type of high-powered weapon. The gunman used it.
“I think things have gotten so bad that everyone is getting more sane, at least that’s my hope,” Biden told reporters before honoring the nation’s fall in Memorial Day remarks at Arlington National Cemetery.
“The Second Amendment was never absolute,” Biden said. “You can’t buy a cannon when the Second Amendment was passed. You can’t go out and buy a lot of guns.”
A bipartisan group of senators spoke over the weekend to see if they could reach even a modest compromise on gun safety legislation. Senator Chris Murphy, who is leading the effort, said the state’s encouragement of “red flag” laws to keep guns away from those with mental health issues, and addressing school security and mental health resources has been up for debate.
The group will meet again this week under a 10-day deadline to reach an agreement.
Copyright © 2022 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
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