On May 24, at least 19 children and two adults weree killed at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. The shooter, identified as 18-year-old Salvador Ramos, is dead and was killed by law enforcement responding to the shooting, as confirmed by CBS News.
In the hours following the tragedy, many celebrities took to social media to express both their sorrow for the victims and anger over the government’s failure to stop these incidents from happening.
1. Mathew McConaughey
Matthew McConaughey — a Uvalde native known for his activism and philanthropy — was among the first to speak out about the shooting,
Texas native Matthew McConaughey, sharing a statement on Instagram Tuesday:
“As you all are aware there was another mass shooting today, this time in my home town of Uvalde, Texas. Once again, we have tragically proven that we are failing to be responsible for the rights our freedoms grant us.”
The actor continued: “The true call to action is now for every American to take a longer and deeper look in the mirror, and ask ourselves, ‘What is it that we truly value? How do we repeat the problem? What small sacrifices can we individually take today, to pressure a healthier and safer nation, state, and neighborhood tomorrow?’ We cannot exhale once again, make excuses, and accept these tragic realities as the status quo.”
“Action must be taken so that no parent has to experience what the parents in Uvalde and the others before them have endured. And to those who dropped 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.”
Uvalde, Texas, USA. pic.twitter.com/0iULRGtREm
— Matthew McConaughey (@McConaughey) May 25, 2022
2. Maren Morris
“18 elementary children… a small classroom size. Imagine you walk down a hall & an entire class… GONE,” country singer Maren Morris wrote. “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.”
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.
3. Selena Gomez
Selena Gomez posted.
“Today in my home state of Texas 18 innocent students were killed while simply trying to get an education,” she wrote. “A teacher killed doing her job; an invaluable yet sadly under appreciated job. If children aren’t safe at school where are they safe?”
“It’s so frustrating and I’m not sure what to say anymore,” she continued in a second tweet. “Those in power need to stop giving lip service and actually change the laws to prevent these shootings in the future.”
4. Finneas
Finneas wrote: “Anyone saying ‘now isn’t the time to talk about gun control’ doesn’t care that kids got (expletive) murdered today.”
5. Taylor Swift
Taylor Swift reposted video of Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr emotionally speaking out about the shooting in a pre-game press conference on Tuesday.
“Filled with rage and grief, and so broken by the murders in Uvalde. By Buffalo, Laguna Woods and so many others,” the singer tweeted. “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.”
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
6. Mindy Kaling
Mindy Kaling wrote on Twitter: “It happens, and then life goes on. Then it happens again. And the only thing that changes – the literal only thing – is that it happens sooner and sooner.”
7. Kerry Washington
Kerry Washington expressed that “as a mother, this is tragically unimaginable.”
“School should be a SAFE place,” she continued. “My heart breaks for the pain and suffering of every family member and loved one connected to today’s events in Texas. My prayers are with you.”
8. America Ferrera
America Ferrera shared a collage of all the young victims and called it “unbearable.”
“Yet so many moms, dads, brothers, sisters, and friends are having to bear it in this moment,” she wrote. “My broken heart is with them. Why are we living in this terror? It doesn’t have to be this way. Please consider a donation to @everytown for gun safety, or any other org working to end the senseless hell we’re living in. Sending love to all your aching hearts today from my own.”
9. Missy Elliot
Missy Elliot wrote we’re “living in some TRYING TIMES… It’s Heavy.”
The rapper added: “I am praying for everyone that is struggling MENTALLY/FINANCIALLY/PHYSICALLY that some PEACE be RESTORED! So many in the world is dealing with pain & I don’t have the answers but I send you LOVE virtueally.”
We living in some TRYING TIMES… It’s Heavy…😞I am praying for everyone that is struggling MENTALLY/FINANCIALLY/PHYSICALLY that some PEACE be RESTORED! So many in the world is dealing with pain & I don’t have the answers but I send you LOVE virtually💜🙏🏾
— Missy Elliott (@MissyElliott) May 25, 2022
10. LeBron James
NBA star LeBron James sent his thoughts and prayers to the families who lost loved ones on Tuesday. Also expressing “enough,” the athlete tweeted, “There simply has to be change!”
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
11. Olivia Rodrigo
Olivia Rodrigo called for “stricter gun control laws” outright during her Tuesday night show at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles. “We should never have to worry about our safety or our lives in places that are dedicated to our learning and growing. I’m so heartbroken that this is the reality that we’re living in, and we need stricter gun control laws in America.
12. Becky G
Becky G also took to Twitter to share her outrage over the tragedy on Tuesday evening. “ENOUGH IS ENOUGH,” she wrote. “Just last week a targeted mass shooting at a market in Buffalo and now a school shooting in Uvalde. Communities should be safe in their grocery stores, our CHILDREN should be safe in class! This has to end. Thoughts and prayers aren’t enough. We need change.”
ENOUGH IS ENOUGH. Just last week a targeted mass shooting at a market in Buffalo and now a school shooting in Uvalde. Communities should be safe in their grocery stores, our CHILDREN should be safe in class! This has to end.
— Becky G. (@iambeckyg) May 24, 2022
Thoughts and prayers aren’t enough. We need change. 💔
13. Kim Kardashian
On Wednesday, Kim Kardashian penned a lengthy Twitter thread on gun control and said, “semi automatic weapons, assault weapons, weapons of war, should not be legally sold or owned by American civilians. They should be banned. Period.
Kardashian continued: “There is no question that mental health, racism, deep-seated hatred all play a role in the motivation for mass shootings in recent years. And at a community level, as parents, teachers, there is a lot that can be done to help teens and young adults that isn’t being done.”
“We can’t accept this as normal anymore. It’s not normal for a teenager to kill children. It’s not normal for our kids to be practicing active shooter drills in schools,” she wrote. “It’s not normal to be shot while shopping for groceries. I’m not numbed by it. I will never be numbed by it.”
Yesterday 19 children were murdered by an 18 year old, and I find myself heartbroken, disgusted and furious about how little has been done by law makers to enact gun laws that protect our children.
— Kim Kardashian (@KimKardashian) May 25, 2022
14. James Corden
James Corden opened “The Late Late Show” sharing that the show “tried to have fun and be joyful, but ultimately it was a night of underlying sadness” due to the deadly mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas.
“It’s unfathomable,” Corden said. “As a father, I can’t imagine the horror of that phone call. When I dropped my kids off at school this morning, and kissed them goodbye, it doesn’t cross your mind that that could ever be the last goodbye.”
He continued to express sadness for “the families of these children, the trauma of the survivors, and for the future these kids will never see.”
“I don’t know what has to happen to change things here. I am constantly shocked by the number of people who must think this is an okay byproduct to never make meaningful changes to gun laws. It doesn’t make sense to me,” Corden said. “This doesn’t reflect the country that I think America is. The America I’ve always admired — you have a problem and you solve it. You’re on the forefront of medicine, of technology, of innovation. When there’s a world war, you are the ones we turn to!”
The mass shooting at Robb Elementary is the second deadliest school shooting in United States history, after the Sandy Hook Elementary school shooting in 2012 that left 20 children and six adults dead.
