SSGT Civic Center Willie de Leon (Nicole Chavez / CNN)
Less than two miles from Rob Elementary School, where at least 19 children and two adults were killed by a mass gunman on Tuesday, the SSGT Willie de Leon Civic Center has become the epicenter for families looking for their children.
For more than 12 hours, families gathered in silence in front of the center – which served as a polling station for Tuesday’s election runoff – awaiting updates.
At least four families told CNN that parents had been asked for DNA swabs to confirm their relationship with their children, and had been instructed to wait an hour to respond.
A father who had just received the news that his child was dead burst into tears as several of his cousins hugged him.
A few meters away, a grandmother who drove from San Antonio said she would not stop praying for her 10-year-old granddaughter while waiting for the DNA swab results.
In the city center, city workers distributed pizza, snacks and water to families. Some parents waited in silence or sobbed softly while a group of children sat on the floor and played with teddy bears. Later, a group of local pastors and priests arrived to offer their support to the families.
Xena Aguilera, a 61-year-old accountant who lives in front of the primary school, said she first learned about the shooting when a friend called her to ask if her granddaughter had stayed home on Tuesday.
“It’s sad. You would never have imagined that this would happen in Uwalde, Texas. I lived here for 32 years, I went to this school, my sisters, my brothers, my grandchildren, my daughters, everyone. If you lived in this district, you went to this school, “says Aguilera.
People in this predominantly Spanish-speaking neighborhood were sitting outside their homes after the shooting, some with their families, while others gathered with neighbors.
“We are in this neighborhood forever, we have cousins, brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews who live on the same streets or within several blocks,” Aguilera said.
Across the street from the school, Adolfo Cruz was waiting for information about his 10-year-old granddaughter.
Adolfo Cruz (Nicole Chavez / CNN)
The 69-year-old air conditioning contractor was answering calls from anxious family members and friends as he watched local and government law enforcement officers enter the school building.
Cruz, a cancer survivor, said he could not lose hope, but wondered how no school resource officer could stop the shooter from entering campus.
“Where were they (the officers)?” How did he get through the school fence? “Said Cruz. Adela and Paul Martinez (Nicole Chavez / CNN)
Adela Martinez and her husband Paul Martinez, a former member of the city council and former owner of a furniture store, spoke about the grief that is spreading in this city of 16,000 people.
“We are here as a big family. You can expect something similar (shooting) in big cities like New York, but in Uwalde? If that happens here, now I believe it can happen anywhere, “said Adela Martinez.
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