UVALDE, Texas — Congressman Joaquin Castro is joining a push to rebuild Robb Elementary in Uvalde so students can have a new place to learn.
He was in Uvalde this weekend and met with some of the families. Here's what he said following his visit:
"These people are going through just unimaginable pain and grief, and you know they asked for a few things: they demanded change on gun reform and gun safety laws. People kept asking me how is it that an 18-year-old can go into a store and buy an AR-15, but he can't even go in and buy beer and cigarettes. They're also concerned about their other little kids who are in elementary school, and they don't want those kids to have to go back into Robb Elementary next year. And so I'm going to be pushing the president and the governor to work together to make sure that they're able to build them a new school. I know that State Senator Roland Gutierrez is working hard on this as well, so those kids who did survive, and their relatives, don't have to go back to Robb Elementary. And then they finally want answers to what happened there. You know it took law enforcement by some accounts, an hour, over an hour, to actually go into that classroom and take out the shooter… and they keep wondering 'Why did it happen to our kids? Why did it happen in Uvalde?' Because we've seen scenarios like this before and this is unprecedented. It's just never happened like this before."
Congressman Joaquin Castro said he understands why Americans are skeptical that anything will change. But, he vows to keep trying.
The push is continuing to gain momentum as multiple Texas lawmakers have endorsed the idea to rebuild. Uvalde Mayor Don McLaughlin also weighed in, saying, "I don't think anybody's plans are but to tear that building down, and it needs to be torn down. I would never ask -- expect -- a child to ever have to walk through those doors ever and ever again. And that building needs to gone, taken away, and gone."
The U.S. Department of Justice announced Sunday it will conduct a critical incident review of law enforcement's response to the mass shooting that killed 21 people in Uvalde.