As the nation continues to reel from yet another deadly day at a school in the U.S., people are mourning together on social media.
Uvalde, Texas, native Matthew McConaughey took to Twitter asking, “What is it that we truly value? How do we repair the problem? What small sacrifices can we individually take today, to preserve a healthier and safer nation, state, and neighborhood tomorrow?”
Uvalde, Texas, USA. pic.twitter.com/0iULRGtREm
— Matthew McConaughey (@McConaughey) May 25, 2022
While he had the same questions that many people are posing the day after 19 children and two teachers were killed, he ended his statement with thoughts for the families who dropped off their children at school for the final time.
“And to those who dropped off their loved ones today not knowing it was goodbye, no words can comprehend or heal your loss, but if prayers can provide comfort, we will keep them coming.”
>>Read: Texas school shooting live updates
McConaughey wasn’t the only celebrity to speak out about the violence at Robb Elementary School.
Texas native Selena Gomez also posed the question, “If children aren’t safe at school where are they safe?” She also called for laws that could stop future mass shootings.
It’s so frustrating and I’m not sure what to say anymore. Those in power need to stop giving lip service and actually change the laws to prevent these shootings in the future. https://t.co/xCTiOdjv6I
— Selena Gomez (@selenagomez) May 25, 2022
LeBron James asked the same question as Gomez.
“These are kids and we keep putting them in harms way at school. Like seriously ‘AT SCHOOL’ where it’s supposed to be the safest!”
My thoughts and prayers goes out to the families of love ones loss & injured at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, TX! 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!
— LeBron James (@KingJames) May 24, 2022
>>Read: Texas elementary school shooting: What we know now
Country singer Maren Morris put it in perspective, saying that the number of children killed on Tuesday was the same as a small classroom of students, posting before the death toll rose later Tuesday evening.
“Imagine you walk down a hall & an entire class... GONE.”
18 elementary children… a small classroom size.
— MAREN MORRIS (@MarenMorris) May 25, 2022
Imagine you walk down a hall & an entire class… GONE.
I’ve already lost track of which shooting happened even a year ago. The victim’s families haven’t and never will.
At this rate, this kind of violence only happens HERE.
Golden State Warriors coach, Steve Kerr, whose father was a victim of gun violence, spoke about the rash of gun violence plaguing the United States.
Kerr’s father was the president of the American University of Beirut when he was shot and killed by two men outside his office in 1984, according to Esquire.
“In the last 10 days, we’ve had elderly Black people killed in a supermarket in Buffalo. We’ve had Asian churchgoers killed in Southern California. Now, we have children murdered at school,” Kerr said during a time when he would traditionally be talking about an upcoming basketball game, CNN reported.
>>Read: Texas elementary school shooting: Coach Steve Kerr gets emotional discussing shooting
Taylor Swift shared Kerr’s statement, saying that she is “Filled with rage and grief, and so broken by the murders in Uvalde.”
Filled with rage and grief, and so broken by the murders in Uvalde. By Buffalo, Laguna Woods and so many others. By the ways in which we, as a nation, have become conditioned to unfathomable and unbearable heartbreak. Steve’s words ring so true and cut so deep. https://t.co/Rb5uwSTxty
— Taylor Swift (@taylorswift13) May 25, 2022
>>Read: Texas elementary school shooting: What we know about the victims
Mandy Moore shared similar thoughts that many people dealt with when hearing the news, “There are no words,” the “Today” show shared.
Chris Evans, the actor who portrayed Captain America, showed his downright anger over another mass shooting on Twitter: “(expletive) enough.”
Jon Favreau called the shooting “an unimaginable nightmare.”
I didn’t think it was possible to feel more sickened or enraged by school shootings, and then I became a parent.
— Jon Favreau (@jonfavs) May 24, 2022
What an unimaginable nightmare.
Hollywood elite were not the only ones who took to social media to share their thoughts after the rampage.
Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) said that prayer and condolences are “grossly inadequate.”
Grief overwhelms the soul. Children slaughtered. Lives extinguished. Parents’ hearts wrenched. Incomprehensible. I offer prayer and condolence but know that it is grossly inadequate. We must find answers.
— Mitt Romney (@MittRomney) May 24, 2022
Former RNC chairperson Michael Steele said “politicians will offer their ‘shock’ and their ‘prayers’. We will move on in a week. Again.”
14 children and a teacher have been killed in a shooting at an elementary school in Texas. Again, another school shooting. Again, mothers and fathers will have lost a child. Again, politicians will offer their "shock" and their "prayers".
— Michael Steele (@MichaelSteele) May 24, 2022
We will move on in a week. Again.
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) said, “Heidi & I are fervently living up in prayer the children and the families in the horrific shooting in Uvalde.”
Later he told NBC News that he “and the entire country, are grieving horrifically at yet another unspeakable crime.”
Ted Cruz on Uvalde, Texas school shooting: "yet another unspeakable crime." https://t.co/xL7CXkUNv6 pic.twitter.com/0GOqu27KGy
— Kiki Intarasuwan (@kintarasu) May 24, 2022
Cruz is scheduled to speak at the National Rifle Association meeting scheduled to be held as planned in Houston this week, the Houston Chronicle reported. Former President Donald Trump and Gov. Gregg Abbott are also expected to speak, the newspaper reported.
>>Read: What are the worst school shootings in modern US history?
Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) said “Another round of thoughts and prayers. They’re hollow words if we continue to do nothing to end the violent, unrelenting, preventable shootings in our country.”
Children went to school today and were killed in a mass shooting. Another American community shattered by gun violence. Another round of thoughts and prayers. They’re hollow words if we continue to do nothing to end the violent, unrelenting, preventable shootings in our county.
— Cory Booker (@CoryBooker) May 24, 2022
Sen Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) took the Senate floor shortly after the shooting. “I am here on this floor, to beg...find a way to pass laws that make this less likely.”
Sen. Chris Murphy addressed the Senate floor shortly after news broke of the Texas mass shooting that is believed to have left several elementary school kids dead.
— CBS News (@CBSNews) May 24, 2022
"I am here on this floor, to beg...find a way to pass laws that make this less likely" https://t.co/r6vOrzySQC pic.twitter.com/egbjrWvWPZ
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