Meghan Markle Makes Surprise Visit to Memorial for School Shooting Victims in Texas
Meghan Markle paid tribute to the victims of an elementary school shooting that killed 19 students and two teachers in Uvalde, Texas, on Thursday. She kneeled before the cross and hung her head there for 10-year-old victim Uziyah Garcia before laying flowers with a purple ribbon at a memorial outside the Uvalde County Courthouse in Texas. She wore jeans, sneakers, and a baseball cap as she viewed the monuments to the victims.
A bodyguard accompanied her to Uvalde, but Prince Harry was not there to pay respects. The Daily Mail reported claims she did not speak to any press during the trip, focusing on the memorial. An official spokesperson for Meghan said she took the trip as a mother who wanted to personally offer her condolences and support to residents going through unimaginable grief. Since the tragedy occurred, Markle has been one of the first public figures to visit Uvalde; President Biden is expected to visit soon.
On Tuesday, an 18-year-old wearing body armor drove into a ditch near the school before entering a classroom, where he locked himself inside, killing 21 people. It is the deadliest shooting in America since a gunman killed 20 children and six staff at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, in 2012. According to authorities in Texas, the suspect, an 18-year-old resident, legally obtained two AR-15-style assault weapons the week before the attack.
In 2019, the Duchess of Sussex and Prince Harry, who live in Montecito, California, with their son Archie and daughter Lilibet, honored the victims of the terrorist attack in Christchurch, New Zealand, where 50 people died, and dozens more were injured when a gunman opened fire on two mosques. They left flowers outside New Zealand House in London and a note from Markle reading, "Our deepest condolences. We are with you."
Markle, 40, and Prince Harry, 37, are reportedly planning to travel to the U.K. on the weekend of Queen Elizabeth's Platinum Jubilee to celebrate with their children. Visit here for information on relief programs, blood drives, and GoFundMe pages to help Uvalde.