Shooting in Texas: Matthew McConaughey speaks about deadly gun attack in his hometown of Uvalde

Matthew McConaughey has addressed the deadly shooting in his hometown of Uvalde, Texas, in which a lone gunman killed at least 19 students and two adults at Robb Elementary School.

Eighteen-year-old gunman Salvador Ramos, a student at Uvalde High School, carried out the mass shooting alone before he was shot dead by police on Tuesday, May 24, officials said.

According to State Senator Roland Gutierrez, Ramos had hinted on social media that an attack could be imminent. “He suggested that the kids should pay attention,” the lawmaker told reporters.

In his statement, McConaughey said Americans “needed to find common ground” “in an epidemic we can control.”

“As you all know, there was another mass shooting today, this time in my hometown,” said the 52-year-old actor, who spent the first 12 years of his life in Uvalde, Texas.

He emphasized how important it is for “every American to take a longer, deeper look in the mirror and ask, ‘What is it that we really value? How do we fix the problem? What small sacrifices can we personally make today to maintain a healthier and safer nation, state and neighborhood tomorrow?’”

That Interstellar star then pleaded for US citizens to “renegotiate our wishes from our needs”.

“We must realign our values ​​and find common ground about this devastating American reality that has tragically become our children’s problem,” he wrote. “This is an epidemic that we can control and whichever side of the aisle we’re on, we all know we can do better. We have to do better.

“Action must be taken so that no parent has to experience what the parents in Uvalde and the others before them had to endure.”

Ramos reportedly shot and killed his grandmother before driving to Robb Elementary School just before noon on Tuesday.

Access unlimited streaming of movies and TV shows with Amazon Prime Video Sign up now for a free 30-day trial

Register

“The suspect entered the school and as soon as he entered the school, he started shooting at children, teachers and anyone who stood in his way,” Christopher Olivarez of the Texas Department of Public Safety told local media.

McConaughey is one of several celebrities who have spoken out about the filming.

Taylor Swift broke her months-long Twitter hiatus to share a video of grieving Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr, whose team was scheduled to play a game 400 miles from where the fatal shooting took place.

“Filled with anger and sadness and so broken by the murders in Uvalde. From Buffalo, Laguna Woods and so many others,” Swift wrote.

“By the way we have been conditioned as a nation to unfathomable and unbearable heartbreak. Steve’s words ring so true and hit so deep.”

Other celebrities who shared their sadness at the incident include Chris Evans, rapper Offset, Elizabeth Banks and Jimmy Kimmel.

Follow all live updates of the Texas school rampage here.