Bidens Mourn With Uvalde

President Biden and first lady Jill Biden went to Uvalde, Texas, on Sunday, their second trip to a town consumed by grief after the massacre of innocent Americans in less than two weeks. The Bidens met with the families of victims and survivors while in Uvalde, though no speech by the president was planned, the Washington Post reports. He didn't interact with crowds along his route, but he heard the shouted pleas to act to stop the mass shootings. As the Bidens left Sacred Heart Catholic Church after Mass, someone outside hollered "Do something!" Biden answered, "We will," per the New York Times.

The Bidens—who traveled to Buffalo on May 17 after the slayings of 10 people there—began their visit Sunday at Robb Elementary School, pausing in front of large photos of the victims. After the first lady placed a bouquet of white roses, they viewed the memorial, including tributes to the victims left there. As the Bidens began to leave, witnesses said, onlookers kept at a distance shouted "We need your help!" and "Don't forget about us!" The Bidens were joined at the memorial by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, US Rep. Tony Gonzales and Uvalde Mayor Don McLaughlin. Abbott's appearance elicited scattered boos and chants of "Vote him out!" The governor signed a series of bills last year rolling back Texas' gun control laws.

The archbishop saying Mass invited the children present to sit on the floor up front. He told them they will have to help their community heal. "Our hearts are broken," Archbishop Gustavo García-Siller said to the 600 people attending the Mass. The Bidens also planned to meet with first responders in Uvalde. "Too much violence. Too much fear. Too much grief," Biden said in a commencement speech Saturday. (More Uvalde mass shooting stories.)