RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — As news of the latest school shooting in Texas continues to rock the country, parents in Central Virginia are reacting to the gut-wrenching reality.
“It’s just like shock and anger. Disgust and frustration,” said Theresa Kennedy, a parent in Central Virginia. “This is a collective tragedy.”
Kennedy is the mom of two young boys, 8 and 11 years old. She said Tuesday night she was tasked with explaining to them that 19 children and two teachers were gunned down and killed at Robb Elementary school in Uvalde, Texas.
The 18-year-old gunman barricaded himself inside a single classroom and “began shooting anyone that was in his way,” according to authorities.
“They were in shock. They couldn’t really comprehend what was happening,” she said. “They didn’t want to recognize that they live in a world that is this cruel to them… and a world that prioritizes the right to own a firearm over the lives of its children.”
Kennedy said Tuesday’s tragedy is a heartbreaking situation that has become all too familiar. Other Central Virginia parents took to social media to share their concerns.
One mother wrote, “Do you know how hard it was telling them what happened? The questions they asked wasn’t a conversation two 9-year-olds and a 6-year-old should be having. My boys are worried they will be shot. Kids are terrified, not just mine.”
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Flowers and candles are placed outside Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, Wednesday, May 25, 2022, to honor the victims killed in Tuesday’s shooting at the school. Desperation turned to heart-wrenching sorrow for families of grade schoolers killed after an 18-year-old gunman barricaded himself in their Texas classroom and began shooting, killing several fourth-graders and their teachers. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong) -
Members of the community gather in Uvalde, Texas, to pray after an 18-year-old gunman killed 21 people, 19 of whom were grade-school students, at Robb Elementary School on May 24, 2022. (Photo by Jordan Vonderhaar/Getty Images) -
Families hug outside the Willie de Leon Civic Center where grief counseling will be offered in Uvalde, Texas, on May 24, 2022. – A teenage gunman killed 18 young children in a shooting at an elementary school in Texas on Tuesday, in the deadliest US school shooting in years.
The attack in Uvalde, Texas — a small community about an hour from the Mexican border — is the latest in a spree of deadly shootings in America, where horror at the cycle of gun violence has failed to spur action to end it. (Photo by allison dinner / AFP) (Photo by ALLISON DINNER/AFP via Getty Images)
Someone else questioned, “How can we help protect our students and teachers and staff members, while also helping the individuals who could potentially commit these atrocities?”
Kennedy said it’s troubling that her sons have become accustomed to preparing for this type of situation.
“It is so normal for them that active shooter drills exist. It’s normal that they know what lockdowns are,” she said. “They think that’s a part of being in elementary school and it’s not.”
Following Tuesday’s tragedy, Richmond Superintendent Jason Kamras sent out an alert to families notifying them of an increased police presence and enhanced security checks for students. He added that the division had also updated its school-specific active shooter response plans.
“The last thing we want is to be policing children, but that is the only option we’re left with and that is just devastating,” Kennedy said.
This shooting marked the 11th school shooting since 2007 that killed more than four people. Kennedy is now urging lawmakers to make policy changes to prevent more families from having to bury their loved ones due to senseless gun violence.
“It is completely preventable,” she said. “This is a real opportunity for us to make real change and limit gun access, it is state-level law that can make a change.”
