The Duchess of Sussex, 40, visited a memorial site outside the UValde County Courthouse, where she placed a bouquet of white roses. The court is a short distance from Robb Elementary School, where gunman Salvador Rolando Ramos killed 21 people on Tuesday.
The 18-year-old gunman was shot dead by police after one of the deadliest school shootings in recent U.S. history.
Hundreds of children between the ages of seven and ten attended the primary school, about 85 km west of the city of Sant Antoni.
The Duchess was thrilled as she watched each individual tribute to the tragically dead, the white crosses with the names of the victims.
She was dressed casually in blue jeans, a white T-shirt, and a baseball cap as she looked grimly at the monument.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott called Ramos with AR-15 “the pure face of evil,” after the teen arrived in elementary school shortly after 11:30 a.m. Tuesday.
He fired several shots at passers-by outside the school, before heading to classrooms full of children and opened fire indiscriminately.
Lt. Chris Olivarez of the Texas Department of Homeland Security told NBC that Ramos “doesn’t care about human life, just a completely evil person.”
Authorities say Ramos first shot his grandmother in the face before taking the family vehicle to the school grounds.
Her own grandmother sounded the alarm to the police, before she was admitted to intensive care.
It is unclear how Ramos managed to enter the school building after being stopped by law enforcement.
Speaking to CNN, Erick Estrada of the Texas Department of Homeland Security said a police officer, employed by the school, had seen Ramos get out of the vehicle in protective armor and brandishing a rifle.
He said the officer “committed” to him but was unable to stop the teenager, before two other local police officers also prevented Ramos from entering the school.
Olivarez said: “The suspect entered the school and as soon as he entered the school he started shooting at the children, the teachers, whoever gets in his way.”
The shooter barricaded himself in a classroom before firing on those already in the room.
Investigators also believe Ramos was a student at Uvalde High School and had previously written on Facebook, “I’m going to shoot at an elementary school,” Abbott said.
However, Facebook owner Meta said that this was part of “one-on-one private text messages that were discovered after the terrible tragedy,” but that the company was “cooperating closely with the forces of the order in its ongoing investigation “.
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