The tragic deaths of the victims of the Robb Elementary School mass shooting have sparked outrage from the general public and celebrities alike, including prominent figures like Taylor Swift, Selena Gomez, Olivia Rodrigo, and Kim Kardashian.
On May 24, at least 19 children and two adults were killed at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. The shooter, identified as 18-year-old Salvador Ramos, is dead and was killed by law enforcement responding to the shooting, as confirmed by CBS News.
In the hours following the tragedy, many celebrities took to social media to express both their sorrow for the victims and anger over the government’s failure to stop these incidents from happening.
In a powerful Twitter thread posted on May 25, Kim Kardashian referenced an essay she wrote about gun control back in 2017 in honor of National Gun Violence Awareness Day, and noted that not much has changed with gun legislation in the five years that have passed. In the thread, Kim wrote that she is “heartbroken, disgusted and furious” and directly called for tangible action from lawmakers — specifically to enact a ban on assault weapons and increase the legal age to purchase guns.
“Assault weapons didn’t even exist when the Second Amendment was written,” wrote Kim. “We have to stop allowing people to use a sentence written centuries ago when technology, times, humanity were completely different, to dictate how we regulate gun ownership, & how we protect our kids today.”
“We can’t accept this as normal anymore,” continued Kim near the end of her thread. “It’s not normal for a teenager to kill children. It’s not normal for our kids to be practicing active shooter drills in schools. It’s not normal to be shot while shopping for groceries. I’m not numbed by it. I will never be numbed by it.”
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Taylor Swift quote-tweeted a video posted by the Golden State Warriors basketball team, in which Warriors head coach Steve Kerr delivers a passionate and heartbreaking plea for gun control during a pre-game press conference.
“When are we going to do something? I am so tired of getting up here and offering condolences to the devastated families that are out there,” said Kerr in the video. “I’m so tired of the excuse, I’m so tired of the moments of silence. Enough!”
“Filled with rage and grief, and so broken by the murders in Uvalde,” tweeted Taylor. “By Buffalo, Laguna Woods and so many others. By the ways in which we, as a nation, have become conditioned to unfathomable and unbearable heartbreak. Steve’s words ring so true and cut so deep.”
Olivia Rodrigo called for “stricter gun control laws” outright during her Tuesday night show at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles. “We should never have to worry about our safety or our lives in places that are dedicated to our learning and growing. I’m so heartbroken that this is the reality that we’re living in, and we need stricter gun control laws in America.”
Texas-native Selena Gomez expressed her frustrations on Twitter, writing: “Today in my home state of Texas 18 innocent students were killed while simply trying to get an education. A teacher killed doing her job; an invaluable yet sadly under appreciated job. If children aren’t safe at school where are they safe?”
Becky G also took to Twitter to share her outrage over the tragedy on Tuesday evening. “ENOUGH IS ENOUGH,” she wrote. “Just last week a targeted mass shooting at a market in Buffalo and now a school shooting in Uvalde. Communities should be safe in their grocery stores, our CHILDREN should be safe in class! This has to end. Thoughts and prayers aren’t enough. We need change.”
Becky G is right: we need change. Many on social media pointed out that the Robb Elementary school shooting took place merely a week after two other mass shootings occurred — and the hate-motivated attacks in Buffalo, New York and Laguna Woods, California happened less than 48 hours apart from each other.
The mass shooting at Robb Elementary is the second deadliest school shooting in United States history, after the Sandy Hook Elementary school shooting in 2012 that left 20 children and six adults dead. On the evening of May 24, Senator Chris Murphy spoke from the Senate floor and called “bullsh*t” on Republicans for focusing on mental health and not gun reform, pleading with the Senate to pass stricter gun laws.
“What are we doing?” He asked. “Sandy Hook will never ever be the same. This community in Texas will never ever be the same. Why? Why are we here if not to try to make sure that fewer schools and fewer community go through what Sandy Hook has gone through, what Uvalde is going through.”
Dozens of other celebrities and public figures shared mournful reactions to the tragedy on social media, including poet Amanda Gorman, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, singers Chlöe Bailey and Lauren Jauregui, athlete LeBron James, and actors Chris Evans and Matthew McConaughey — the latter whose hometown is Uvalde, TX. See more Twitter reactions below.
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