Uvalde school gunman told teacher 'goodnight' before shooting her, child witness says
ITV News Correspondent Robert Moore reports on the demands of the victims of the Uvalde shooting to implement change in the US
A gunman who killed 21 at a Texas primary school told a teacher "goodnight" before shooting her, a child witness has told US lawmakers.
Two weeks after surviving the mass shooting in Uvalde by smearing herself in her classmate's blood, 11-year-old Miah Cerrillo gave evidence at a Congress hearing on gun violence.
In a recorded video message she described the moment 18-year-old shooter Salvador Ramos massacred 19 children and two teachers at Robb Elementary School.
"We went to go hide behind the teacher’s desk," Miah told lawmakers.
"He told my teacher goodnight and shot my teacher in the head. And then he shot my classmates."
Asked what happened next, Miah replied: "I thought he was going to come back to the room, so I grabbed the blood and put it all on me."
She then called 911 on her teacher's phone.
Miah said students "must have security" and that she thinks another mass shooting will take place there.
The hearing's purpose is to examine the human impact of gun violence, as well as the urgency for lawmakers to enact gun control legislation.
Miah's tearful father gave evidence in-person, repeatedly referring to the 11-year-old as his "baby girl".
"She is not the same," Miguel Cerrillo said, before pleading with the lawmakers for tighter gun control laws.
"Something needs to really change."
The parents of Lexi Rubio, who died in the Uvalde shooting, also testified. After hearing about the shooting, Kimberley Rubio ran the mile distance to Robb Elementary School barefoot with her sandals in her hand. “We understand that for some reason, for some people - people with money, people who run political campaigns - that guns are more important than children,” she said, fighting through tears.
The parents of Lexi Rubio, who died in the Uvalde shooting, appeal for tighter gun control laws
Those impacted by a shooting in New York state, just 10 days before the Uvalde shooting, also gave evidence.
Zeneta Everhart, who's 21-year-old son Zaire survived a bullet to the neck during the attack, said: “As I clean his wounds, I can feel pieces of that bullet in his back.
"Shrapnel will be left inside of his body for the rest of his life. Now I want you to picture that exact scenario for one of your children.”
Eleven out of the 13 casualties at Tops supermarket were black, and officials have labelled the shooting as a racist "hate crime".
“America is inherently violent,” Ms Everhart added.
“My ancestors brought to America through the slave trade were the first currency of America.”
The Democratic-led House is expected to pass legislation that would raise the age limit for purchasing a semi-automatic rifle and prohibit the sale of ammunition magazines with a capacity of more than 10 rounds. But the legislation has almost no chance of becoming law as the Senate pursues negotiations focused on improving mental health programs, bolstering school security and enhancing background checks. The House bill does allow Democratic lawmakers a chance to frame for voters in November where they stand on policies that polls show appeal to a majority. Majorities of US adults think mass shootings would occur less often if guns were harder to get, and that schools and other public places have become less safe than they were two decades ago.
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