Matthew McConaughey has reacted to the shooting in his Texas hometown of Uvalde on Tuesday when an 18-year-old gunman, who was identified as Salvador Ramos, opened fire at the Robb Elementary School, leaving a reported 19 children and two adults dead. The Hollywood actor penned a heartfelt statement on social media in a desperate attempt to bring urgent gun law reform in America, which he believes will be the only way these tragedies can be prevented from happening again.
In view of his 2.8 million Twitter followers, the father-of-three wrote, “As you all are aware there was another mass shooting today, this time in my hometown of Uvalde, Texas. Once again, we have tragically proven that we are failing to be responsible for the rights our freedoms grant us.” Matthew continued, “This is an epidemic we can control, and whichever side of the aisle we may stand on, we all know we can do better.”
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Further on, the Oscar winner stressed the importance of enforcing new gun laws so that no parent would have to experience the heartbreak that the victims’ families are going through, writing, “We have an epidemic in our country right now that we need to fix. And those of us who are legal and responsible American citizen gun owners, it’s time to join hands. It’s time to get into the arena. It’s time to step up to the line and help heal our country. We must do better.”
Uvalde, Texas, USA. pic.twitter.com/0iULRGtREm
— Matthew McConaughey (@McConaughey) May 25, 2022
Dozens of celebrities have paid tribute to the innocent children who were tragically killed in the shooting, such as Taylor Swift, who said she was filled with “rage” and “grief” after hearing about the massacre attack. She mentioned that along with the murders which recently occurred in Buffalo and Laguna Woods, America has become conditioned “to unfathomable and unbearable heartbreak.”
JUST IN: Eva Mireles has been identified as the teacher who was killed in the #Uvalde Texas school shooting this afternoon. She was a 4th Grade Teacher at Robb Elementary.
Photo courtesy the Mireles family for ABC News. pic.twitter.com/uOunvVN3Ao
— Tony • GMA (@THETonyMorrison) May 25, 2022
Kourtney Kardashian, too, felt moved by the news of yet another senseless slaughter after sharing a lengthy post on her Instagram Stories, which mentioned how schools should be a place where children can learn, make friends, grow and discover themselves — not a place where their futures are taken away from them. Her poignant message continued, “How have we gotten to a point where it is acceptable for our children to be murdered in their schools? They deserve a safe place. They deserve protection. They deserve a FUTURE!”
Prior to killing over a dozen of innocent people, Salvador was also said to have shot his grandma before driving to the elementary school, crashing his vehicle, and making his way into the building wearing a body armor while carrying his AR-15 assault rifle and opening fire on anyone he crossed paths with.