Texas school shooting: Uvalde High School graduating class honors victims

UVALDE, Texas — A month after a mass shooting at a Texas elementary school, a somber graduation ceremony was held at Uvalde High School on Friday night.

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The 288 graduates, wearing dark red gowns, honored the 19 students and two teachers who were killed when a gunman opened fire on May 24 at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, KSAT-TV reported.

The students walked across the stage to receive their diplomas at Honey Bowl Stadium at 7 p.m. CDT, according to the television station.

“It’s an emotional evening for us but we’re so proud of these kids. This is the best group of kids,” Nancy Bennett, who watched her grandson graduate, told WOAI-TV.

Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District Superintendent Hal Harrell said last week that participation in the ceremony was optional for seniors. Harrell and school principal Randy Harris praised the students for their strength, citing the COVID-19 pandemic, three changes of principals and the mass shooting at the elementary school, according to The Associated Press.

“Love the people in your life while you have them because you don’t know what the future holds for anyone,” class valedictorian Abigail Kone said during her address. “Our community has definitely learned about the unexpected. Something that should have never happened, happened. Our lives have been altered. But we still stand together as a community.”

At the ceremony site, there were 21 “Uvalde Strong” placards to honor the victims killed in the elementary school shooting, KSAT reported.

“If I had to choose one theme for today, I would choose healing,” Harris said at the outset of the ceremony, KENS-TV reported. “Healing is what you need. It’s what I need, it’s what our community needs.”

“We’ll continue to grieve together. We’ll continue to pray together. We’ll continue to grow together, and we’ll continue to move forward together as we build a brighter future for our community but never forgetting,” Harrell said in a video message to the graduating class. “These lives do matter, and they will always matter to Uvalde. We are Uvalde strong.”

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