As Uvalde funerals continue, harrowing details emerge of the terror inside Robb Elementary

Hundreds of flower bouquets ring the fountain, stacked alongside toys, stuffed animals, candles and letters in memory of the 21 people killed at Robb Elementary in Uvalde last week. Framed posters show smiling faces, leaning against walls covered with hearts drawn and names written in chalk.

On a pathway leading to the square, visitors slowly walk past a row of crosses, stopping to pray or reflect on the devastating tragedy. Each cross — several feet tall and draped with flowers, balloons and messages of remembrance — carries the name of someone killed.

Nineteen children and two teachers lost their lives after an 18-year-old gunman entered their classroom and opened fire. Now, families and friends have begun burying their loved ones.

Ryan Ramirez, the father of Alithia Ramirez, said he waited for nearly 12 hours before learning she was killed. He described his 10-year-old daughter as “very lovable and kind.”

“She was just there for anybody that needed anything. And that was one thing that we all loved about her,” he told CNN’s Anderson Cooper on Tuesday.

Alithia “loved drawing,” her father said, and when he met with President Joe Biden during his Uvalde visit on Sunday, Biden told him that he would have one of Alithia’s drawings displayed at the White House.

She “always had a crayon in hand, just going to town,” Ramirez said.

“I just kept hearing shots fired, and I just kept praying, ‘God, please don’t let him in my room, please don’t let him come in this room,’ and for some reason, he didn’t.”

Three people injured by the gunman remained hospitalized Tuesday at University Hospital San Antonio. The gunman’s 66-year-old grandmother, who was shot in the face before the attack on the school, is in good condition; a 9-year-old girl is in good condition; and a 10-year-old girl is in serious condition, the hospital said.

Police chief sworn in as city council member

Though Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steven McCraw did not identify Arredondo by name, he said on Friday the chief made the “wrong decision” not to engage sooner with the gunman.

Uvalde Mayor Don McLaughlin said no swearing-in ceremony was held Tuesday, “out of respect for the families who buried their children today, and who are planning to bury their children in the next few days.”

More resources are inbound, state says

To expedite the allocation of state and local resources, Gov. Greg Abbott declared a state of disaster for Uvalde on Tuesday, according to a news release from the governor’s office.

“The disaster declaration will accelerate all available state and local resources to assist the Uvalde community, as well as suspend regulations that would prevent, hinder, or delay necessary action in coping with the aftermath of the tragic shooting,” the release said.

“The community of Uvalde has been left devastated by last week’s senseless act of violence at Robb Elementary School and should not have to encounter any difficulty in receiving the support needed to heal,” Abbott said.

Patrick Johnson, 58, told CNN he was so overcome with grief after hearing about the shooting that he drove seven hours from Harleton, Texas, to Uvalde, filling his trunk with children’s toys from a Walmart to pass out in the town square.

For three days, children were invited to choose any toy they liked from a table crowded with stuffed animals, miniature cars and soccer balls.

“When you lose something, especially as a child, you need something else to hold onto,” Johnson said. “It brings joy to the kids, so it brings joy to me.”