US President Joe Biden is expected in the small Texan city where 19 students and two teachers were killed earlier in the week. He's scheduled to meet with family members of the victims and first responders.
President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden will visit Uvalde on Sunday, as it mourns the loss of victims in a mass shooting at an elementary school.
The couple will meet with families affected by the attack, which killed 19 students and two teachers.
Biden is not expected to deliver formal remarks, said the White House. He will visit the makeshift memorial outside Robb Elementary School before attending Mass at a local Catholic church.
He is also scheduled to meet with family members at a community center and then with first responders at the local airport before returning to Washington.
At Uvalde's court house square, 21 simple white crosses have been erected around a fountain, commemorating each victim.
People have left growing piles of stuffed animals and flowers, as well as messages like "Love you" and "You will be missed."
Gun control discussions come up again
This is Biden's second trip within weeks to comfort a community affected by such a loss. He had visited Buffalo, New York, on May 17 to meet with families of victims after a shooter killed 10 Black people at a supermarket.
"We have to stand stronger. We must stand stronger. We cannot outlaw tragedy, I know, but we can make America safer," Biden said on Saturday, at a commencement address at the University of Delaware.
Public discourse has been focused on gun control, as recent incidents have brought the issue back into the spotlight.
"If there's anything if I could tell Joe Biden, as it is, just to respect our community while he's here, and I'm sure he will. But we need change. We need to do something about it, said Mckinzie Hinojosa, whose cousin was killed in the Tuesday attack.
Police response to the shooting has been under scrutiny after the attack in Uvalde. Officials said on Friday that students and teachers repeatedly begged 911 for help as a commander told police officers to wait in a hallway.
Officers said the commander believed the suspect was barricded in an adjoining classroom, and was not active anymore.
"When in God's name are we going to stand up to the gun lobby? Why are we willing to live with this carnage? Why do we keep letting this happen?'" Biden had said in a speech hours after the shooting.
Biden, who has lost two of his children, also spoke about the pain of losing someone's child.
Biden has spoken against gun violence on numerous occasions and has propagated more control over arms.
