Brad Brooks

UVALDE (Texas) – Frank Salazar looked down at Robb Elementary School’s low-slung buildings, two blocks away from his house, trying to understand the tragedy that occurred less than 24 hours ago in his small Texas town.

Salazar (18 years old) is a Uvalde High School senior. He walked to school every day as a kid from Robb Elementary with his cousins. As with most people in this town of 15,000, Salazar knows someone directly affected.

Salazar explained that although this community is very tight, many choose to be quiet and to remember their losses alone.

Two of his close friends died from the deaths of their younger siblings. The information was presented to him in a factual tone. His eyes were wide-open and his bloodshot eyes were open. Salazar, like many in Uvalde was dazed at the events unfolding in his community. He saw an 18-year old gunman with an AR-15-style rifle threatening to kill 19 children and 2 adults.

On Wednesday, there were no signs that the school massacre in which dozens of students died was just one day before. At scenes of mass disaster, there were often spontaneous flowers and bears for memorials.

About 50 people attended a Wednesday morning Mass at the Sacred Heart Catholic Church. They listened intently as a priest tried to explain why many children in their community had died.

According to the priest, he was asking for guidance from God to help him understand why these killings occurred.

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Uvalde’s atmosphere, which is home to large oaks that shade the streets and sometimes not paved roads, felt eerie. The grocery store was quiet, with customers checking their shopping lists quietly and speaking in muffled tones to one another.

You will find large placards with photos of valedictorian of high schools and other notable scholars on the grass in front of the municipal hall. Numerous homes are decorated with family names made from wood, while crosses that signify a strong Christian faith can be found in the yards.

Not only were residents looking for answers, but so was everyone else. Numerous law enforcement officers at all levels, federal, local, and state, swept the area around the school to find out what was happening. They knocked on doors of small ranch-style homes, some with chickens roaming free in their yards.

On the streets, men wearing FBI jackets were seen cuddling up with residents. They stepped into the shade of porches and asked questions.

Jorge Roque lives nearby to Robb Elementary and grimaced, choking back tears, as he put his straw cowboy head on, trying to make sense.

His two grandchildren, he said, survived the attack on the second, third, and fourth-graders at school. These students typically range from seven to 10. He said that one of the two is currently in fourth grade and was there the same year the victims.

Roque stated, “Half her class-it’s the one who got shot.”