Gabby Giffords remembers Uvalde school shooting victims four years later

WASHINGTON — GIFFORDS, the national gun violence prevention organization led by former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, released the following statement recognizing four years since the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. Nineteen students and two teachers were killed, and 18 others were injured in the shooting.

“My heart aches for the lives lost at Robb Elementary four years ago. Those children should still be alive today,” said former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords. “Our schools should be safe havens of learning and community. Instead, they are far too often the target of terrible violence. We cannot accept this as normal. Texas’ leaders have an urgent duty to pass commonsense gun laws and defend our children’s safety through lifesaving legislation.”

The Uvalde shooting was the impetus for the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, which was the first major gun safety legislation to pass at the federal level in nearly 30 years. In 2025, the Trump administration halted the distribution of $1 billion in school mental health funds originally allocated by the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act to prevent similar shootings in the future. 

After the shooting, Gabby Giffords visited Uvalde to stand in solidarity with families of the victims. Throughout 2022 and 2023, GIFFORDS met with families of victims and survivors to develop the The Uvalde Report. The report identifies the needs of the community in the wake of the shooting, outlining policies and trauma-informed structural changes designed to help the community heal and avoid future tragedies.

GIFFORDS continues to be an ally of Lives Robbed, a staunch advocate for gun safety legislation founded by three mothers of Uvalde victims. GIFFORDS Texas, one of the organization’s state-based programs, partners with Lives Robbed across the state to raise awareness and pass lifesaving gun safety legislation.