US President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden have offered comfort to a city gripped by grief and anger as they paid respects at a memorial to 19 students and two teachers slain during a mass shooting at a Texas elementary school.
The visit to Uvalde on Sunday (Monday, AEST) was Biden's second trip in as many weeks to console a community in mourning after a staggering loss from a shooting. He travelled to Buffalo, New York, on May 17 to meet with victims' families and condemn white supremacy after a shooter espousing the racist "replacement theory" killed 10 Black people at a supermarket.
Outside Robb Elementary School, Biden stopped at a memorial of 21 white crosses - one for each of those killed - and the First Lady added a bouquet of white flowers to a pile in front of the school sign. They viewed individual altars erected in memory of each student, and the first lady touched the children's photos as the couple moved along the row.
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The shootings in Texas and New York and their aftermath put a fresh spotlight on the nation's entrenched divisions and its inability to forge consensus on actions to reduce gun violence.
"Evil came to that elementary school classroom in Texas, to that grocery store in New York, to far too many places where innocents have died," Biden said on Saturday in a commencement address at the University of Delaware. "We have to stand stronger. We must stand stronger. We cannot outlaw tragedy, I know, but we can make America safer."
After visiting the memorial, Biden arrived for Mass at Sacred Heart Catholic Church, where some of the victims' families worship. Near the church, a teacher held up a sign that said, "Mr. President, thank you for coming. I'm a teacher."
"Mr. President has a good understanding of what is happening now, here, and we are very gracious for his visit," Archbishop Gustavo Garcia-Siller told the congregation.
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A crowd of about 100 people chanted "do something" as Biden left the church to head to private meetings with family members at a community center. "We will," he responded.
The president was also meeting with responders at the airport before returning to Washington. He was not expected to deliver formal remarks.
Mckinzie Hinojosa, whose cousin Eliahana Torres was killed last Tuesday, said she respected Biden's decision to mourn with the people of Uvalde.
"It's more than mourning," she said. "We want change. We want action. It continues to be something that happens over and over and over. A mass shooting happens. It's on the news. People cry. Then it's gone. Nobody cares. And then it happens again. And again."
Biden visited amid mounting scrutiny of the police response to the shooting.
Officials revealed Friday that students and teachers repeatedly begged 911 operators for help as a police commander told more than a dozen officers to wait in a hallway. Officials said the commander believed the suspect was barricaded inside an adjoining classroom and that there was no longer an active attack.
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The revelation caused more grief and raised new questions about whether lives were lost because officers did not act faster to stop the gunman, who was ultimately killed by Border Patrol tactical officers.
The Justice Department announced on Sunday it will review the law enforcement response and make its findings public.
Authorities have said the shooter legally purchased two guns not long before the school attack: an AR-style rifle on May 17 and a second rifle on May 20. He had just turned 18, permitting him to buy the weapons under federal law.
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