Biden to meet Congress on guns as Uvalde funerals begin
June 1, 2022
US President Joe Biden on Tuesday promised to meet with members of Congress to talk about gun laws, as the first funerals for the children killed in Robb Elementary School in Texas were held earlier that afternoon.
Biden told reporters he would "meet with the Congress on guns" as he met with New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern Tuesday at the Oval Office.
The leaders addressed the issue of gun violence during the meeting, with Ardern expressing her condolences for the children and the families devastated by the mass shooting at the elementary school in Uvalde last week as well as for the victims of those killed in a racist attack in Buffalo city in New York earlier in May.
Mourners gather for funeral services
On Tuesday afternoon, hundreds of mourners gathered at the Sacred Heart Catholic Church for the funeral Mass for Amerie Jo Garza, who was a fourth-grader at the elementary school.
Amerie's funeral was the first one since the massacre, with several other funerals planned in the next two and a half weeks.
Uvalde has two funeral homes and they don't have enough space to accommodate victims of the shooting.
The homes have scheduled visitations for family members as services near, with the last visitation planned June 15.
The father of Layla, an 11-year-old killed in the shooting and whose visitation is scheduled June 15, said he was going to as many visitations to pay respects to other victims and their families.
"I understand there were other children as well, but we're just waiting to get her back," he said.
Texas police investigate shooting
Texas state police on Tuesday said investigators had determined that the rear school door through which the gunman entered had been closed by a teacher before the shooter arrived but had failed to lock behind her - contrary to a DPS account last week that a teacher had left the door propped open.
Law enforcement officials say the gunman used the door to enter the school. They're investigating why the door wasn't locked.
The news comes as the Ulvade school district police chief comes under fire for waiting too long to confront the gunman in the classroom, even as children called 911 to ask the police to breach the classroom.
rm/jsi (Reuters, AP)