This story has been updated.
Only 12 days after visiting a community center in Buffalo, New York, following a mass shooting that claimed 10 lives at a supermarket, President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden arrived in Texas on Sunday morning to console victims of the deadliest school shooting in Texas history.
After landing at Joint Base San Antonio-Kelly Field, the Bidens flew to the South Texas town of Uvalde, a majority-Latino community of 15,000 where 19 schoolchildren and two educators were slaughtered on Tuesday at Robb Elementary School.
The president and first lady were greeted by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, Texas first lady Cecilia Abbott, Republican U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales of San Antonio, Uvalde County Judge Bill Mitchell and Uvalde Mayor Don McLaughlin.
Uvalde County Independent School District Superintendent Hal Harrell, Robb Elementary School Principal Mandy Gutierrez and state Sen. Roland Gutierrez (D-San Antonio) joined the group at the site of the shooting.
Biden stopped to read the victims’ names and touched some of their photos. While there, he wiped away a tear.
When Abbott arrived at the school, one of the spectators shouted: ”We need help!”
On the way to Mass at Sacred Heart Catholic Church, the Bidens encountered Texans along the route. One man held up a “Uvalde Strong” sign, while another woman held up a blue and white flag with the word “BORDER” written across the top.
“Our hearts are broken,” San Antonio Archbishop Gustavo García-Siller said at the Mass on Sunday.
The church service focused on the children of the 600 parish members in attendance. In both English and Spanish, García-Siller told the Uvalde children they would help their community heal.
Later in the afternoon, the Bidens will meet with victims and survivors of the shooting and with first responders.
This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune, a member-supported, nonpartisan newsroom informing and engaging Texans on state politics and policy.
