Kimberly Mata-Rubio, mother of 10-year-old Uvalde shooting victim Lexi Rubio, joined Democrats on their national stage Thursday in Chicago to tell the tragic story of how gun violence changed her family forever.
“Uvalde is national news,” said Mata-Rubio, recounting how her daughter and 18 other children were killed alongside two teachers during a mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in 2022. “Parents everywhere reach for their children. I reach out for the daughter I will never hold again.”
Mata-Rubio spoke as part of an emotional presentation on gun violence on the last night of the four-day Democratic National Convention. Spotlighted on a dark stage with other family members of victims and survivors of gun violence, Mata-Rubio told her story.
It was 10:30 a.m. on May 24, 2022, and the school was honoring Lexi for getting all As in school, Mata-Rubio told the crowd.
“She wears a St. Mary’s sweatshirt and a smile that lights up the room,” she said, her voice wavering. “Thirty minutes later, a gunman murders her, 18 classmates and two teachers. We are taken to a room where police tell us she isn’t coming home.”
“Not one more! Not one more!” the crowd chanted.
Mata-Rubio was joined by survivors and activists including Sandy Hook shooting survivor Abbey Clements, director and co-founder of Teachers Unify to End Gun Violence. The presentation was followed by remarks by former U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, who was shot in Tucson, Arizona, in 2011.
“I almost died, but I fought for my life and I survived,” she said to wild cheers. “Kamala can beat the gun lobby, she can fight gun trafficking. … Join me in voting for Kamala Harris!”
An emotional video at the beginning of the panel showed clips of news stories from mass shootings in the U.S., including photos of the Uvalde children.
Harris has expressed support for policies aimed at reducing gun violence including prohibition of sales of assault weapons to civilians, red flag laws and universal background checks for firearms purchases.
Mata-Rubio, who unsuccessfully campaigned for Uvalde mayor last year, has become one of the most active voices to emerge from the tragedy in her daughter’s fourth grade class.
Nearly 400 law enforcement personnel responded to the scene but then waited more than 70 minutes to confront the shooter inside the school.
Some families, including Rubio, have spent more than two years pressing for officers to face charges after 19 children and two teachers were killed inside the fourth grade classroom. Some have called for more officers to be charged.
The attack was one of the worst school shootings in U.S. history. The police response has been heavily criticized in state and federal investigations that described “cascading failures” in training, communication and leadership among officers who waited outside the building while some victims lay dying or begging for help.
Terrified students inside the classroom called 911 as parents begged officers to go in. A tactical team of officers eventually went into the classroom and killed the shooter.
Former Uvalde schools police Chief Pete Arredondo was indicted by a Uvalde grand jury in June. In late July, a former Uvalde school police officer who was part of the slow law enforcement response pleaded not guilty to charges in connection to the shooting. Adrian Gonzales was arraigned on charges of abandoning and failing to protect children who were killed and wounded.
