Texans are being asked to pay their respects with a moment of silence for those killed in the Uvalde school shooting on the first anniversary of the deadly incident.
Gov. Greg Abbott issued a statewide order for Texas flags to be lowered to half-staff on May 24 in observance of the anniversary. Abbott asked that Texans also take a moment of silence to commemorate the victims, their families, and all those who suffered as a consequence of the attack.
The one-year anniversary of the Uvalde shooting comes just weeks after the state’s most recent mass shooting at Allen Premium Outlets, in which the shooter left eight victims dead and seven wounded on May 6 before being neutralized by a police officer, as previously reported by The Dallas Express.
Uvalde residents are still grieving one year after the tragedy. City officials for Uvalde issued a joint statement ahead of the anniversary, asking that non-residents give the community space on the somber occasion.
“It is essential to the healing process for our community, and most importantly for our children, to be given this time to grieve together privately,” read the statement.
Abbott said in a press release on May 23 that he and his wife had met with families of the shooting victims in the weeks and months after the shooting to offer condolences. Abbott said that the tragedy had left the local community and the state as a whole “devastated to our core.”
“As we lower Texas flags today in remembrance, I ask all Texans to join Cecilia and me in a moment of silence in honor of those who lost their lives, the families who lost a loved one, the survivors who are forever changed, and the entire Uvalde community as they continue to heal,” said Abbott in the press release. “May we also remember that Texans, uniting in our darkest days, will rise above to forge a brighter path forward.”
Flags are to remain at half-staff until sundown on May 24 by order of the governor.
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