Taylor Swift, Olivia Rodrigo & More React to Texas School Shooting: ‘Filled With Rage and Grief’

Rania Aniftos
·6 min read
1
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.

An 18-year-old gunman opened fire on Tuesday afternoon (May 24) at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, killing 19 children, two teacher and injuring others. The gunman was also dead, likely killed by responding officers, though the events are still being investigated, according to Governor Greg Abbott.

The latest act of violence in the United States was the deadliest shooting in a U.S. grade school since the 2012 attack at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Conn., according to the Associated Press. It was also the 27th school shooting with injuries this year and, according to the Gun Violence Archive, the 212th mass shooting of 2022.

More from Billboard

Law enforcement said that the gunman had a handgun, AR-15 and high-capacity magazines in his possession. Robb Elementary School has nearly 600 students in the second, third and fourth grades. Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District Chief of Police Pete Arredondo did not provide ages of the children who were shot at the time of publication.

Following the heartbreaking news, celebrities are speaking up to express outrage over the lack of gun control in the country, demand change from lawmakers and mourn the loss of 15 innocent lives. During her Tuesday concert in L.A., Olivia Rodrigo said she was “so heartbroken” after the latest mass shooting. “We need stricter gun control laws in America,” she told concertgoers.

Taylor Swift called spoke out by tweeting for the first time since the end of January. “Filled with rage and grief, and so broken by the murders in Uvalde. By Buffalo, Laguna Woods and so many others,” she wrote. “By the ways in which we, as a nation, have become conditioned to unfathomable and unbearable heartbreak.”

New mom Halsey, who welcomed son Ender last summer, shared their horror in an Instagram story and called out lawmakers for protecting firearms instead. “Just like many of you, as a mother I’m scared,” the singer-songwriter wrote in part. “As a big sister I’m scared. As a citizen I’m angry. I can’t think of anything to say besides make sure you’re registered to vote. I just want all school age children to be protected and not grow up in the epicenter of this trauma. It is so futile and revolting that lawmakers protect guns over our youth. It’s despicable.”

See more reactions on social media from artists including Britney Spears, Lauren Jauregui, Offset, Bette Midler and more below.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Britney Spears (@britneyspears)

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Britney Spears (@britneyspears)

Click here to read the full article.