UVALDE, Texas – The media and law enforcement frenzy that enveloped the small town of Uvalde after Tuesday’s shooting at Robb Elementary School gave way over the weekend to calm as the community continued to grieve for the 21 lives lost in one of the deadliest school shootings in Texas history.
Community prayer vigils, memorials and public expressions of support of the families of the 19 students and two teachers killed replaced the press conferences with state officials.
Hundreds of Uvalde residents and visitors from surrounding communities cycled through the Uvalde Town Square in the Latino-majority community of 16,000 people, located about 80 miles west of San Antonio. Churches from Uvalde and neighboring cities organized continuous prayer vigils at the square.
Law enforcement officials continued restricting access to the streets around Robb Elementary and the memorial that sprung up outside. So the town square has become a gathering place for the community to mourn.
“The pain is going to come and go, you’re going to feel sometimes … numb,” said Christian Alexander from Believer’s Christian Fellowship in San Antonio. “But know that what God is telling you during those moments… know you’re not just fighting for yourself, because that little precious angel is with you everywhere you go.”
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The air around the town square was filled with the sweet smell of dozens of candles. Twenty-two white crosses encircled the fountain at the center of the square. Each one was labeled with the names of the 21 victims of the shooting, as well as the husband of one of the teachers who died of a heart attack shortly after his wife’s death.
The crosses were barely visible as mourners continued to arrive with flowers and other items. They walked around the fountain, placing the flowers and other trinkets at the base of each cross bearing the name of each victim.
Some of the mourners that showed up to Saturday’s vigils had personal connections to the victims.
Pearl Moreno stood before some of the crosses in silence, at times shaking her head and wiping tears from her eyes. She is the cousin to two of the girls killed in Tuesday’s shooting, Navaeh Bravo and Jailah Silguero, both 10 years old. She described them as caring, loving and supportive of their siblings.
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She also knew four of the other children.
“I’m a Head Start teacher so some of these kids went through my doors since they were infants,” she said.
Moreno said Navaeh and Jailah’s parents are devastated. It is too hard for them to show up to the town square to see the outpouring of support from the community. But she expressed her appreciation for the crosses placed at the square and the mounds of flowers, candles and other items people have dropped off.
“It’s beautiful,” Moreno said. “The community’s come together and even though some of them may not know these kids, they’ve come and they’ve placed flowers and they’ve shown their love … toward all of the kids, not just my cousins.”
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Patricia Castanon is the aunt of 10-year-old Annabell Rodriguez, one of the 19 fourth- graders killed Tuesday. She traveled to Uvalde from Frederick, Oklahoma, on Wednesday after learning her niece was one of the victims just to be closer to Annabell’s twin sister.
She said he was glad to see the community rally around her family and the families of the other victims. She showed up to the vigil because she said she needed the spiritual support.
“I’ve been numb. I can’t help my brother. I can’t help my sister-in-law. I can’t help myself. There’s nothing supportive enough for them,” she said, adding that she has sought counseling as well to work through her feelings.
Castanon said Annabell was a happy child that she would see a couple of times a year. She held up a photo of the two of them hugging, taken nearly two years ago. She said was unsure how long she would stay in Uvalde. Funeral services for Annabell are scheduled for June 8.
“I believe that she’s here with me, and any negative feeling that I’ve ever had, Annabell brings me to be a better parent, a better mom, a better grandmother, and to be more supportive to my family,” Castanon said.
Some of the families who showed up to the town square included classmates of the victims. They wept in the arms of their parents. Others walked to each of the crosses, laying down flowers.
Nicole Trevino and her son were among them. They live two blocks away and she had signed out her son from class on Tuesday morning about 15 minutes before the gunman entered the school. She’s grateful for that.
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Her son is scheduled to return to Robb Elementary School in August. But Trevino said she hopes that does not happen. He’s also already told her he’s afraid of going back.
“They need to just shut down that school … What teacher wants to go back? What student? It’s just never going to be the same,” she said.
