Uvalde remembers victims and survivors after two years of shooting

May 24, 2024 marked a second year without 21 beloved people who died as a result of the Robb Elementary shooting. On what has recently become a community-wide day of remembrance, people gathered in churches and public spaces to celebrate the lives of their loved ones.

As the day's mild temperatures subsided with the sun's slow decline, people mourned by candlelight at an all-night vigil in Uvalde Memorial Park. Families and friends, wearing sportswear dedicated to their deceased loved ones, shared tears, poetry and memories during the event.

Berlinda Arreola talked about her granddaughter Amerie Jo Garza's love of oddly shaped rocks and how the young diva was preparing for college around that time. April Elrod told how her daughter, the late Makenna Elrod Seiler, left handwritten notes all over the family home and found one that said “I love you mom” in the medicine cabinet just a week before . Steven Garcia, father of Eliahna Garcia, reminisced about some of his daughter's former teammates and talked about how vibrant she was in life.

“We will always strive to live like Ellie…she was definitely the life of the party,” he said.

Jose Garcia, son of the late Irma and Joe Garcia, concluded his speeches by saying that problems like gun violence don't stop in the hallway but in the home. He said two years was like two days.

“The feeling of that day never leaves you.”

Former Robb Elementary School teacher Arnulfo Reyes read aloud a poem he wrote in remembrance of his deceased students and classmates.

“Relatives and survivors left today/I'm a survivor myself, I say it proudly/I promise you, you didn't die in vain/I'll ​​remind everyone to say your name,” a he recited. He concluded the 10-stanza poem by calling out the names of those who lost their lives on May 24, 2022.

Rob Wilcox, deputy director of the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention, delivered remarks on behalf of the Biden administration. Wilcox, who lost his 19-year-old cousin to gun violence, said the country needs to fight gun violence with the same vigor as it does natural disasters.

“That tragedy and his experience at Uvalde still shapes him today,” Wilcox said of the president.

This year the crowd was smaller than last year. The media, although present, buzzed quietly throughout the day. Visitors came and went. Musical performances from outside visitors and Uvalde High School's Mariachi Los Coyotes filled the Memorial Park Amphitheater.

Earlier in the day, community members and former Robb Elementary School employees waved orange flags in the downtown square to recognize gun violence awareness.

Reyes, a former Robb Elementary School teacher, organized the event, which started at 10 a.m. and lasted until 11:17 p.m. to mark the 77 minutes it took law enforcement to enter classrooms 111 and 112.

Afterward, about 100 people gathered on the lawn of St. Philip's Episcopal Church.

Services included several songs, the ringing of the bell and a butterfly release coordinated by the children and staff of the South Texas Children's Bereavement Center.

The Rev. Mike Marsh offered the prayer. “Remember in your mercy all those who mourn and mourn the death of their family and friends. Feed them with patience, comfort them with a sense of your goodness, strengthen them to face the days ahead, lift up your countenance upon them and give them peace,” Marsh prayed.

He also prayed for an end to gun violence and for divisions to heal.

After the butterflies were released, participants gathered on the lawn to take photos of butterflies existing in nature.

The church also held an evening prayer at 5:30 p.m.

“We will gather to remember, not only for the past, but also for the healing, well-being and future of Uvalde,” the church program reads.

During the week leading up to May 24, the church also opened the chapel to the community and hosted a dinner for those who lost loved ones on May 24, 2022.

In the afternoon, the Rev. Matthew De Leon led a holy hour of worship for approximately 100 community members who gathered at Sacred Heart Catholic Church to mark the two-year anniversary of the tragedy on May 24, 2022 at Robb Elementary School.

There were prayers, songs and candles lit during Adoration.

Early in the day, a children's mass honored the lives lost on May 24, 2022. Memorial candles lined the altar rail and were placed at the foot of the altar in the sanctuary. Kindergarten students at Sacred Heart Catholic School attended Mass in their graduation regalia and received a blessing from DeLeon.

After the liturgy, students and their families gathered in the school grounds for a butterfly release, coordinated by Sacred Heart Principal Altagracia Valles, the South Texas Children's Bereavement Center and the Mexican American College.