21 families, 19 pairs of worried parents, 17 injured. In 78 minutes, the whole country mourns for the loss of 21 innocent lives that have been viciously taken from this world due to someone’s deeply disturbed personal conflicts. Trauma will never heal; 21 families will never be the same again. 

In Uvalde, Texas, 18-year-old lone gunman Salvador Ramos stormed into Robb Elementary School on May 24 at 11:35 a.m., entering through the back door of the school that had been propped open by a teacher minutes before. There were no security or teachers to stop him from doing so. Upon receiving a phone call from a bystander who was believed to have seen the armed gunman, a policeman showed up, but quickly dismissed it; believing the bystander had seen a teacher, no further action was employed. 

“He walked in unobstructed initially,” Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) Regional Director Victor Escalon told CNN. “So from the grandmother’s house, to the (ditch), to the school, into the school, he was not confronted by anybody.”

In the 78 minutes the gunman was in the school before police took control, Ramos shot 186 rounds. The gunman carried weapons with the intent to kill many, carrying 58 magazines and 1,657 rounds of ammunition on him. 30 minutes after the gunman entered, 19 officers entered the hallway, where they again received another phone call from a student and a teacher in room 112 begging for help. 

By now the police had already arrived. At 12:50 p.m. a specially trained Border Patrol officer opened the classroom door, killing the gunman—students were still in the room during the occurrence. 

Before the shooting occurred, the gunman had shown several signs of his intentions long before it happened. Texting with a 15-year-old girl from Germany, he had alerted her that he had shot his grandmother and was “going to shoot up a(n) elementary school.” Even after this, no police or officials were notified. 

“If you see something, even the littlest thing, say something. I talk about it with my friends how disgusting it is to see no one say anything about the messed up things he had posted. We come to a consensus that with people like this existing and laws like this allowing it to happen—we need a change in our country and we need it soon,” said Arcadia High School junior Amish Jha.

The small town of Uvalde, Texas was home to approximately 16,000 people, and was located 85 miles from San Antonio. This close-knit community now grieves for the 21 lives lost; Alexandria Aniyah Rubio, age 10, received a “good-citizen award” the day she had gotten shot, and wanted to become a lawyer when she was older. Amerie Jo Garza, age 10, was a social butterfly who always smiled and loved play-doh. Tess Marie Mata, age 10, loved Ariana Grande, TikTok dances, and was saving up for a family trip to Disney World. Jose Flores, 10, was an energetic boy who loved baseball and video games. Mirance Mathis, age 11, “was very loving and very talkative.” Maite Rodriguez, age 10, aspired to become a marine biologist and was her mom’s best friend. Makena Lee Elrod, age 10, was an animal-lover who often hid notes so her family would find them and gave her best friend a friendship bracelet. Xavier Lopez, age 10, was an amazing baseball and soccer player who spent his time talking on the phone with his girlfriend. Eliana Garcia, age 9, was very selfless, always helped around the house caring for her grandparents and little sisters, and loved “Encanto.” Laylah Salazar, age 10, would sing “Sweet Child O’ Mine” by Guns N’ Roses on the way to school with her father everyday and won 6 races at her school. Eliana Cruz Torres, age 10, loved softball,most often wore her softball uniform, and was awaiting the final game of the season on Tuesday. Alithia Ramirez, age 10, loved drawing and wanted to become an artist, drawing her recently deceased best friend a portrait depicting her in heaven and him on Earth. Jackie Cazares and Annabelle Rodriguez, 10, were cousins in the same class. Jackie was very social while Annabelle was more reserved, yet the two of them were inseparable. Jailah Silguero, age 10, was the youngest of four children and loved to dance and make videos for TikTok. Jayce Luevanos, age 10, was cousins with Jailah. He loved making people laugh, and every morning he would brew coffee for his grandparents. Uziyah Garcia, age 9, was described by his grandfather as the perfect kid, and loved to play video games and football. Nevaeh Bravo, 10, is “flying with the angels now,” her cousin said in a tweet, Rojelio Torres, 10, was described by his aunt to be “intelligent, hardworking, and helpful.”

Two teachers had also been killed. Irma Garcia, 46, had worked for the district for 17 years and loved all the kids she taught, and enjoyed running and hiking. Eva Mireles, 44, had taught at Robb Elementary School for 23 years, loved classic rock, and was an optimist. She spent a lot of her time with her husband, died on May 25 of a heart attack.

The nation and numerous family members and friends are left to grieve the loss of their loved ones who have fallen victim to a heinous act of violence. Not only did the horror at Uvalde shed light on the terrors of gun violence, it also raised more voices and called for more action. The nation will never be the same again. These are not just names, but children who had their whole lives ahead of them, and adults who dedicated their time to enriching the community. May we learn and mourn the lost lives from this tragedy.

Photo courtesy of Finger Lakes Daily News