“The last four months have been really, really difficult,” mentioned Destiny Esquivel, the cousin of Maite Rodriguez.
UVALDE, Texas — It’s been four months with out 19 college students and two academics who had been killed in a mass shooting at Robb Elementary on May 24.
The nonprofit Lives Robbed, which was based by a few of the victims’ families, posted a assertion on their social media account on Saturday alongside with the names of the 21 victims.
“It has been 4 months. In that four months our families have traveled to DC at least 3 times, we’ve attended countless school board and city council meetings, we’ve sent children back to school and mourned the ones who did not return,” the assertion says.
Among the victims named is fourth grader Maite Rodriguez. The 10-year-old is remembered by household as a woman with large goals of changing into a marine biologist.
Over the summer time, her household visited her favourite seaside in Mexico to wash up particles in her reminiscence. Matching shirts had been worn by members of the family with Maite’s favourite coloured sneakers.
“We were there for a while. We cleaned it, we released flowers and released sea turtles into the sea,” mentioned Destiny Esquivel, her older cousin.
Esquivel mentioned the final four months with out her cousin have been tough. She misses her and the playful relationship that they had when Maite was alive. However, they’re recollections Esquivel holds on to.
“That’s what keeps me going to be honest,” she mentioned.
Along with the heartbreak, Esquivel lives with anxiety from her house in Eagle Pass. She’s going to counseling to beat her concern of attending excessive school, however she says talking out in opposition to gun violence makes her really feel stronger.
“It’s a fight every day,” she mentioned.
Esquivel stand with the opposite families is elevating the age restrict to buying an automated rifle to age 21. While it will not deliver her cousin again, she consider it may make a distinction sooner or later.
“I really hope people have an open mind and to look at what’s actually happening in the world now.”
story by The Texas Tribune Source link