Uvalde city and county officials pleaded for privacy ahead of the one-year anniversary of the Robb Elementary School shooting. | Don Holloway/Public Domain/Wikimedia Commons
Uvalde city and county officials pleaded for privacy ahead of the one-year anniversary of the Robb Elementary School shooting. | Don Holloway/Public Domain/Wikimedia Commons
With the one-year anniversary of the horrific events at Robb Elementary School in just days, Uvalde municipal and county leaders have appealed for privacy.
May 24 marks 365 days since a teen gunman opened fire at the school, killing 19 students and two teachers.
Per a report from Houston CBS affiliate KHOU, officials such as Uvalde Mayor Don McLaughlin and Uvalde County Sheriff Ruben Nolasco, among others said in a letter they are requesting “peace and privacy” for the close knit community that resides just about 80 miles west of San Antonio.
“[It’ll] be a very difficult time for many, especially our children,” the leaders wrote, KHOU reported. “If you feel compelled to support the residents of Uvalde, please host something in your hometown in our honor.”
The Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District (UCISD) cancelled classes and will close campuses and facilities in observance of the tragic milestone.
CBS News reported that officials said the South Texas city of around 16,000 people is still grappling with the fallout of the shooting.
"The Uvalde community continues to face the impact of that tragic day,” their letter reads. “Despite the overwhelming support and efforts to assist with the healing process, the past 11 months have been challenging."
They insist the plea for privacy is necessary for healing, per CBS News.
Just as UCISD prepared to approach next Wednesday, it was allegedly on the receiving end of threats made on social media.
San Antonio ABC affiliate KSAT reported that the threats in question were discussed at the UCISD Board of Trustees’ meeting on Monday.
Surviving loved ones of the Robb victims were in attendance, calling on the district to respond, according to KSAT.
“I feel like we need to be – we need to take everything serious and not just assume that it’s not credible because we never know when – because that man, that person that did what he did, put it on social media, and nobody took him serious either,” Berlinda Arreola, whose step-granddaughter was among the dead, told the board, the station reported.
UCISD has imposed a backpack ban through the end of the current academic year.
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