President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden traveled to Uvalde, Texas, on Sunday — the community that lost 19 children and two adults on Tuesday when a gunman targeted an elementary school.
The Bidens first paid their respects to the victims of the horrific elementary school massacre by visiting a memorial at Robb Elementary School, before attending a Mass at Sacred Heart Catholic Church.
Outside Robb Elementary School, Biden stopped at a memorial of 21 white crosses — one for each of the victims killed — and the first lady added a bouquet of white flowers to a pile in front of the school sign. They viewed individual altars erected in memory of each student; the Bidens stopped in front of each photo, with Dr. Biden touching each photo as they moved down the row.
The president and first lady were accompanied by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, as well as Robb Elementary School Principal Mandy Gutierrez and Uvalde County Independent School District Independent Superintendent Dr. Hal Harrell.
After visiting the memorial, Biden arrived for Mass at Sacred Heart Catholic Church, where a teacher nearby held up a sign that said, “Mr. President, thank you for coming. I’m a teacher.”
“Our hearts are broken,” Archbishop Gustavo Garcia-Siller, Archbishop of the Archdiocese of San Antonio, Texas, said at the service, before urging the community to "resolve to support one another with respect for our differences."
"Our response must be one of hope and healing," he said. "We must move forward together."
As the Bidens left the church to meet with families of victims and survivors of the shooting, a crowd gathered outside the church thanked the president for visiting and urged him to "do something" about gun violence.
"We will," Biden promised.
Biden addressed the shooting in a commencement speech at the University of Delaware, his alma mater, on Saturday.
“Evil came to that elementary school classroom in Texas, to that grocery store in New York, to far too many places where innocents have died,” Biden said in the address. "As I speak, those parents are literally preparing to bury their children. In the United States of America. Too much violence, too much fear, too much grief."
"In the face of such destructive forces, we have to stand stronger," the president said. "We cannot outlaw tragedy, I know, but we can make America safer. We can finally do what we have to do to protect the lives of our people, and of our children."
"So, I call on Americans this hour," Biden added. "Join hands and make your voices heard. Work together to make this nation what it can and should be. I know we can do this, we have done it before. You and I act as 'We the People' seeking a more perfect union."
The Bidens’ visit to Uvalde came amid mounting scrutiny of the police response to the shooting. Officials revealed Friday that students and teachers repeatedly begged 911 operators for help even as a police commander told more than a dozen officers to wait in a hallway. Officials said the commander believed that the suspect was barricaded inside an adjoining classroom and that there was no longer an active attack.
The revelation prompted fresh anguish and questions about whether more lives were lost because officers did not act faster to stop the gunman, who was ultimately killed by Border Patrol tactical officers.
The president had initially praised local law enforcement for their efforts before details emerged of the delayed response, which has sparked widespread outrage.
Biden, whose young daughter died in 1972, spoke directly to parents of the victims in a speech earlier this week, telling them he knows that losing a child is like “having a piece of your soul ripped away.”
The first lady had confirmed their planned trip on Wednesday at an event to welcome a new shipment of baby formula, telling reporters: “Of course we’re going to Texas.”
The Bidens made the trip nearly two weeks after they visited Buffalo, New York, to mourn with that community in the aftermath of a racist attack a grocery store that saw 10 people killed.
Last week, President Biden called for urgent action and implored lawmakers to “stand up to” pro-gun lobbies.
“Why are we willing to live with this carnage? Why do we keep letting this happen? Where in God's name is our backbone, or the courage to deal with and stand up to the lobbies?” he asked.
“It's time to turn this pain into action for every parent, for every citizen in this country. We have to make it clear to every elected official in this country: it's time to act,” he added.
The first lady, a teacher, also called for action.
“Let us pray that God cradles those broken families in the palm of his hand,” she said. “But let us also pray to use the will and courage God gives to each of us to act united, with common sense, to protect our children.”
A bipartisan group of lawmakers on Thursday began discussions on renewed gun safety legislation. But their time to negotiate is limited, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said.
Schumer plans to bring Democrat-supported bills to the Senate floor if the talks fail, and he said Democrats have “deep skepticism” about Republicans’ appetite for gun reform.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.