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Uvalde school massacre: Here's why Matthew McConaughey bombarded with messages to come HOME!

Hollywood star McConaughey has been a vigilante on gun violence calling it 'an epidemic in our country'

Mathew McConaughey has been bombarded with messages asking him to return to his hometown after a deadly shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, that killed 18 young school children. The shooting also killed a teacher and left 18-year-old gunman Salvador Ramos dead. McConaughey has been a vigilante on gun violence calling it "an epidemic in our country". 

In a 2018 March for Our Lives event in Texas, McConaughy gave an impassioned speech about his support for some gun control, he also shared his fears that the youth-led movement will be 'hijacked' by those hoping to eliminate all guns in the United States. "I've got a lot of friends who are gun owners. I've got a lot of friends who are NRA. I grew up hunting. We had responsible gun ownership, but I was taught the right way to respect that tool," McConaughey said.

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The actor has been bombarded with messages and tweets asking him to come back home. One user wrote: "This is your hometown, these are your people! A word from you now will go further than a word from almost anyone else." Another tweeted: "Please use your voice and address gun control in Texas. People listen to you."  

A user wrote "With what just happened in your home town I hope that everything helpful is within the families reach and that there is peace and love again soon. 🙏"@McConaughey come home". 

Another user wrote "I really hope @McConaughey will reconsider his run for Governor after what occured in his childhood hometown today. It’s time to get @GregAbbott_TX and his cronies out of office and get real gun control in place NOW!"

McConaughey previously teased a possible Texas gubernatorial run for 2022, but last year announced he wouldn't proceed with his plans to enter politics.

What happened in the Texas massacre?

Pete Arredondo, Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District Chief of Police, said the shooting began at 11:32 local time on Tuesday, May 24, and that investigators believe the attacker "did act alone during this heinous crime". Investigators said that the suspect was armed with a handgun, an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle, and high-capacity magazines. Texas Governor Greg Abbott said the shooter, whom he named Salvador Ramos, abandoned a vehicle before entering the school to "horrifically, incomprehensibly" open fire. In the shooting, one of the adults killed was a teacher, who has been named in US media as Eva Mireles.

According to the Associated Press report, a US Border Patrol official who was nearby when the shooting began rushed into the school and shot and killed the gunman, who was behind a barricade.

Omar Jimenez, correspondent at CNN, tweeted about the shooting and wrote, "Update: Texas Governor @GregAbbott_TX now says 14*** children and a teacher are dead after the shooting today. He also says the shooter is dead. Still awaiting further update from other officials at the hospital or school district."

Greg Abbott, Texas Governor wrote, "Texans are grieving for the victims of this senseless crime & for the community of Uvalde. Cecilia & I mourn this horrific loss & urge all Texans to come together. I've instructed @TxDPS & Texas Rangers to work with local law enforcement to fully investigate this crime."

US President Joe Biden raised his concerns about the mass shooting. In a speech from the White House, he said he was "sick and tired" of responding to mass shootings, as he called for gun control. "How many scores of little children who witnessed what happened - see their friends die, as if they're in a battlefield, for God's sake," he said. "They'll live with it the rest of their lives." He ordered that flags at the White House and other US federal buildings be flown at half-mast in honor of the victims in Uvalde.

According to EdWeek, an education trade publication, school shootings have become recurring emergencies in the US, with 26 recorded last year.

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