The Redwood City community held a vigil Friday to remember the 19 children and two teachers killed on Tuesday in Uvalde, Texas.
Lili Milton was one of the organizers
“We needed to have a place to brief especially for our teachers besides the lives lost in Uvalde, Texas which is horrific to think about, I’m caring a heavy hard for the teachers, how traumatizing it is for them to have to show up and take care of our kids, especially on wednesday and throughout the week,” she said.
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As a mother of two, she can’t stop thinking about the other mothers who lost their children.
“We are human, we can all relate, we can all imagine the pain, the suffering that they were experiencing, that they had to go through that,” said Milton. “I just want them to know that they are open hearts all over the country.”
Parents and children wrote these notes to show how gun violence has affected them, one of the messages read, “My wish is for no more school shootings.”
Redwood City Mayor Giselle Hale was also there.
She couldn’t help but tear up when talking about the as she remembered what happened this week
“It’s every parent's worst nightmare,” she said, adding that the city has been working for years not only on gun violence but mental health for students
“We are actually a city that is doing a lot on mental health. When I became mayor last year we announced an initiative with other 15 mayors across the county to address mental health concerns,” said Hale.
But there are some challenges, she said.
“Guns can get in from other states that are not taking this as seriously so as a parent it is really hard to look at your children and to be able to tell them that they will be safe,” said Hale.
In the end, she said the problem is more than just mental health issues
“At the end we need both but we really need is some common sense gun laws,” said Hale.
