MARYLAND, May 25 - The Montgomery County Council issued the following statement on the tragic shooting that took place at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas on May 24.

“All the members of the Montgomery County Council are heartbroken by the senseless mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Texas, which has taken the lives of at least 14 students and one teacher. We know there is not a parent in America who doesn’t share in the grief and anger about this horrific tragedy.  

“We mourn the loss of the children and the lives that they had ahead of them filled with promise and potential. We are also thinking about the parents, grandparents, siblings and loved ones who have lost the essential light in their lives at the hands of a gunman. We know that no words will ever ease their unimaginable pain.  

“We are also thinking about the young survivors who lost their innocence today, and the teachers, school staff and first responders who risked their lives to protect the students.  

“Gun violence is a plague on our nation. We cannot allow schools to become places of fear and tragedy. We must continue to work with our federal and state partners across the nation to limit easy access to firearms and firearm accessories that enable guns to fire faster and inflict more horrific injuries and death.  

“The Montgomery County Council will continue advocating and working for common sense gun reforms to help keep all communities across our nation safe from gun violence, as we stand with Uvalde, Texas during this time of incomprehensible sorrow."

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