Exactly one week after the tragedy broke hearts across the nation, funerals for the victims of the Robb Elementary School shooting began in Uvalde, Texas on Tuesday (May 31).
Trae Tha Truth was among the hundreds of mourners who attended the funeral service for 10-year-old Amerie Jo Garza, one of 19 young students and two teachers murdered by 18-year-old gunman Salvador Rolando Ramos on May 24. Over a dozen funerals are planned in the small town over the next two and a half weeks.
In a somber Instagram post, the Houston-bred rapper stood mournfully inside the funeral home and commemorated Garza by signing the register book. He also shared a photo of her casket being carried inside Sacred Heart Catholic Church, as well as a few of him taking in the mass of tributes laid outside Robb Elementary School.
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In his caption, Trae expressed both sadness at the tragedy and anger at the horrific actions of the shooter, who was fatally shot by Border Patrol officers over an hour after the killing spree began.
“I Gave Families My Word I Would Support Them In Any Way I Can, I Flew To Uvalde Today For The Funeral As They Started Laying The Little Angels Who Lost They Lives At Robb Elementary in Uvalde Texas To Rest,” he wrote. “Love To Them All… Heartbreaking Situation.. Fly High ‘Amerie Jo Garza’ I was so Angry Seeing A Child In A Casket I felt Like The shooter should come back and Be Dealt Wit Again In A Waaaay Worst Way!!”
Living up to his “Hometown Hero” nickname, Trae Tha Truth revealed last week that he declined an invitation to meet with President Joe Biden at The White House, instead choosing to support the grieving families of the victims in Uvalde, roughly four and a half hours away from his native Houston.
“I was invited to the White House today to meet with the President with the families of those who have wrongfully been murdered by police,” he wrote on Instagram. “But the people of Buffalo NY are really in need as well as the families of the children murdered in Uvalde… so I will have to pass, I will be in the field with the people in need.”
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In addition to meeting with the victims’ families, the 41-year-old rapper helped coordinate funeral plans, met with former Texas congressman Beto O’Rourke and assembled a team of licensed professionals offering free counseling and therapy to families and children in Uvalde.
Over a thousand miles from his home state of Texas, Trae flew to Buffalo, New York earlier in May to once again help those affected by the racially-charged mass shooting at Tops Friendly Markets store that claimed 10 lives.