Funerals Begin for Uvalde Children Killed in Shooting
2022-06-01
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1Two children were buried on Monday in Uvalde, Texas on what would have been the start of their summer vacation.
2They were the first burials among 19 students and two teachers killed in a shooting at Robb Elementary School last week.
3People gathered to mourn 10-year-old Amerie Jo Garza at Hillcrest Memorial Funeral Home.
4The funeral home is across the street from the school where she was killed.
5Others went to remember Maite Rodriguez, also 10, at the town's other funeral home.
6The rest will be buried over the next two weeks while lawmakers and leaders are debating what to do about gun violence.
7Among the mourners at Amerie's funeral were Maite's family members.
8Like many people in the small town near the Mexican border, they were attending both.
9Some mourners at Amerie's wore purple clothing or carried a lilac flower, because her father Angel, said it was her favorite color.
10Amerie had just turned 10 and received a mobile telephone for her birthday.
11Friends said she tried to use the phone to call for help during the attack.
12Maite's family wore green shirts with an image showing Maite with angel wings.
13They stopped at the area where the gunman crashed his car before entering the school.
14"How did he walk for so long?" asked Juana Magaña, Maite's aunt.
15The U.S. Department of Justice announced on Sunday that it would look to study how law enforcement responded to the school shooting in Uvalde.
16The gunman, Salvador Ramos, entered the elementary school through an unlocked door around 11:40 on Tuesday morning and started shooting.
17Police officers followed him into the school within minutes.
18However, they waited for over an hour before entering a locked classroom and killing Ramos.
19Officials said Friday that students were calling the emergency phone number, 9-1-1, to ask for help throughout the attack.
20But the leading police officer at the school did not think the children were still being shot at the time.
21They said the police believed Ramos was hiding in a different classroom.
22The information raised new questions about whether lives were lost because officers did not act faster to stop the gunman.
23Officers from the U.S. Border Patrol finally went into the classroom and killed Ramos.
24Officials said Ramos had legally purchased two guns shortly before the school attack.
25He had just turned 18, permitting him to buy the weapons under federal law.
26During President Joe Biden's visit to Uvalde on Sunday, people shouted, "Do something," repeatedly.
27And Biden promised, "We will."
28On Monday, the American president said there may be support from both Republican and Democrat lawmakers to make it harder to buy powerful guns like the AR kind of gun that Ramos purchased.
29Biden told reporters, "The Second Amendment was never absolute."
30He added, "You couldn't buy a cannon when the Second Amendment was passed.
31You couldn't go out and buy a lot of weapons."
32The Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution says: "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."
33In 2008, the Supreme Court made its first ruling in 70 years related to the Second Amendment.
34The Court said an individual has the right to have a handgun in his or her home for self-defense.
35Previously, the Court had said people may only have guns in connection to service in a state militia.
36I'm Dan Friedell.
1Two children were buried on Monday in Uvalde, Texas on what would have been the start of their summer vacation. 2They were the first burials among 19 students and two teachers killed in a shooting at Robb Elementary School last week. 3People gathered to mourn 10-year-old Amerie Jo Garza at Hillcrest Memorial Funeral Home. The funeral home is across the street from the school where she was killed. Others went to remember Maite Rodriguez, also 10, at the town's other funeral home. 4The rest will be buried over the next two weeks while lawmakers and leaders are debating what to do about gun violence. 5Among the mourners at Amerie's funeral were Maite's family members. Like many people in the small town near the Mexican border, they were attending both. 6Some mourners at Amerie's wore purple clothing or carried a lilac flower, because her father Angel, said it was her favorite color. Amerie had just turned 10 and received a mobile telephone for her birthday. Friends said she tried to use the phone to call for help during the attack. 7Maite's family wore green shirts with an image showing Maite with angel wings. They stopped at the area where the gunman crashed his car before entering the school. 8"How did he walk for so long?" asked Juana Magaña, Maite's aunt. 9Questions about police response 10The U.S. Department of Justice announced on Sunday that it would look to study how law enforcement responded to the school shooting in Uvalde. 11The gunman, Salvador Ramos, entered the elementary school through an unlocked door around 11:40 on Tuesday morning and started shooting. 12Police officers followed him into the school within minutes. However, they waited for over an hour before entering a locked classroom and killing Ramos. 13Officials said Friday that students were calling the emergency phone number, 9-1-1, to ask for help throughout the attack. But the leading police officer at the school did not think the children were still being shot at the time. They said the police believed Ramos was hiding in a different classroom. 14The information raised new questions about whether lives were lost because officers did not act faster to stop the gunman. Officers from the U.S. Border Patrol finally went into the classroom and killed Ramos. 15Officials said Ramos had legally purchased two guns shortly before the school attack. He had just turned 18, permitting him to buy the weapons under federal law. 16Biden on gun rights 17During President Joe Biden's visit to Uvalde on Sunday, people shouted, "Do something," repeatedly. And Biden promised, "We will." 18On Monday, the American president said there may be support from both Republican and Democrat lawmakers to make it harder to buy powerful guns like the AR kind of gun that Ramos purchased. 19Biden told reporters, "The Second Amendment was never absolute." He added, "You couldn't buy a cannon when the Second Amendment was passed. You couldn't go out and buy a lot of weapons." 20The Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution says: "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed." 21In 2008, the Supreme Court made its first ruling in 70 years related to the Second Amendment. The Court said an individual has the right to have a handgun in his or her home for self-defense. 22Previously, the Court had said people may only have guns in connection to service in a state militia. 23I'm Dan Friedell. 24Dan Friedell adapted this story for VOA Learning English based on reporting by the Associated Press. 25Write to us in the Comments Section and visit our Facebook page. 26Words in This Story 27respond - v. to do something as a reaction to something that has already happened 28infringe- v. to limit or restrict something 29regulate -v. to bring something under control of authority 30absolute- adj. complete and total