Meghan Markle makes surprise visit to Uvalde, Texas to lay flowers at memorial for shooting victims

British royal family member Meghan Markle made a surprise visit to Uvalde, Texas, to pay tribute to the victims of the Robb Elementary School shooting. Photos show her laying flowers at a memorial outside of the Uvalde County Courthouse.

Meghan took the trip to Texas on Thursday in a “personal capacity” to offer condolences and support the grieving community in person, a spokesperson for the Duchess of Sussex told Insider.

Meghan was photographed laying a bouquet of white roses at a cross bearing the name of Rojelio Torres, a 10-year-old student who was among those massacred in a single room at Robb Elementary School by suspected shooter Salvador Ramos, an 18-year-old Uvalde resident killed by authorities after he barricaded himself inside a classroom, shooting and killing its occupants.

The appearance of Markle, a Los Angeles-born philanthropist who has championed international human rights and supported youth leadership summits abroad, accentuates the high-profile attention and widespread grief in response to this week’s shooting, which has spurred clashes between American political leaders as to the real solutions needed in addressing the nation’s ongoing rash of mass-casualty events.

Governor Greg Abbott blamed Tuesday’s massacre on America’s increasing mental health crisis. Others, however, have placed all blame on Republican lawmakers who have continuously fought against red-flag gun laws, which many Democrats argue would lessen such instances of violence.

Beto O’Rourke, who is currently running to upseat Abbott, confronted Abbott and other state officials during a press conference on the shooting, demanding answers for their reluctance in considering gun control legislation amid mounting instances of firearm violence.

“You’re doing nothing,” O’Rourke said Wednesday. “You say this isn’t predictable. This is totally predictable.”

As of this writing Markle has not publicly commented on Tuesday’s events in Uvalde.

This is not Markle’s first appearance at a memorial of shooting victims. In 2019, Markle, accompanied by her husband, Prince Harry, paid tribute to victims of the Christchurch, New Zealand, massacre, in which a gunman opened fire on two mosques.