South Florida leaders mourn after gunman kills 19 children at Texas elementary school
A Texas elementary school became the site of the state’s deadliest school shooting on Tuesday when a man opened fire inside — killing 19 students.
The gunman, identified by authorities as Salvador Ramos, is responsible for the deaths of the children and two teachers at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, about an hour-and-a-half drive west of San Antonio.
The 18-year-old also died on scene, according to authorities.
The senseless killing took place hundreds of miles away from South Florida, but still hits close to home to many as it evokes memories of the 2018 Parkland school shooting when 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz shot and killed 17 at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
Elected officials in Miami-Dade and Broward counties took to Twitter and elsewhere to offer condolences to the loved ones of those killed.
Broward County Mayor Michael Udine, who resides in Parkland, spoke with the Miami Herald minutes after driving by Marjory Stoneman Douglas on his way home from work.
“It’s a tragic and heartbreaking episode, and it brings back so much pain to what we went through as a community here in Parkland,” he lamented.
READ MORE: Texas school shooting kills 19 children, 2 adults
Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava noted on Twitter that another gunman killed 10 Black people at a grocery store in Buffalo, New York. She also highlighted how Floridians still bear “the scars of Parkland.”
“Less than two weeks after Buffalo, our country is forced to witness yet another mass shooting,” she wrote. “Almost all who died today were elementary school children — beautiful, innocent children with their entire lives ahead of them.”
READ MORE: Uvalde, Texas school shooting is the deadliest at a K-12 campus in state’s history
Alfredo Ramirez III, Miami-Dade’s interim chief public safety officer, said his heart aches for the families who will not be able to hug their kids Tuesday night.
“Our innocent children, our babies, should never have to fear going to school,” he said.
READ MORE: Uvalde, Texas, school shooting: What do we know about the gunman?
Edwin Lopez, chief of the Miami-Dade Schools Police Department, also sent condolences to the impacted families.
“We stand ready to protect our schools from anyone who wishes to cause harm to our students and staff,” he said.
READ MORE: Where is Uvalde, Texas? What we know about the town where deadly mass shooting occurred
Alberto M. Carvalho, who until months ago was the county’s school superintendent, added that his heart is with the victims of the shooting. He is now the superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District, the second largest school district in the United States.
“As a nation, we must continue to speak up against gun violence,” he encouraged. “We have a moral and professional collective obligation to ensuring a perimeter of inviolable safety around schools.”
READ MORE: Biden says ‘we have to act’ after Texas school shooting
Hialeah Mayor Esteban Bovo called the shooting a “senseless” act “done by a sick animal.”
“School should be the safe place for our children,’ he said. “Hug your children tonight.”
This story was originally published May 24, 2022 at 10:30 PM.
