Meghan Markle Visited Texas To Pay Her Respects After The Elementary School Shooting
The Duchess of Sussex came "as a mother" to express her condolences.
Duchess Meghan has traveled to Uvalde, Texas to express her condolences to a community still reeling from the aftermath of a mass elementary school shooting—the second deadliest school shooting in U.S. history—in which a gunman killed 19 children and two adults at Robb Elementary School.
A spokesperson for Meghan and Prince Harry confirmed the duchess's visit on Thursday to BAZAAR.com, saying that she came "in a personal capacity as a mother, to offer her condolences and support in person to a community experiencing unimaginable grief."
Photos show Meghan laying down a bouquet of white roses in front of a cross at a makeshift memorial set up outside the Uvalde County Courthouse. The Duchess of Sussex kept a low-profile for the visit, wearing a gray T-shirt, blue jeans, sneakers, and a dark gray baseball cap. Buzzfeed News reports that Meghan additionally visited a community center that was hosting a blood drive, where she dropped off two crates full of "sandwiches, beverages, and desserts" for the blood donors.
"I had no idea who she was. She just was carrying on a conversation like her and I knew each other for years," volunteer Gloria Contreras told BuzzFeed News. "We were talking about Texas and Uvalde and how it is to be in a small town and how everybody is so kind and warm-hearted and know we know each other and stuff and how the faith is deep-rooted."
Photo: Chandan Khanna/Getty Images
"She was just really sweet," another volunteer, Georjean Burnell, told the outlet. "She just kind of walked in with her crew and started putting ice waters in the bucket with us and laying out chips for the people who were needing snacks before and after donating. It's funny, we didn't even know it was her until after she left and now we're so sad. I mean, to be honest, we thought she was our neighbor."
Photo: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
An additional 17 people were injured in the shooting, which was executed by a lone gunman, NPR reported. The suspect was killed by a law enforcement agent.
This article originally appeared in Harper's BAZAAR US