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Representatives of the Houston Astros made the 280-mile trip west to Uvalde on Friday to show their support for the grief-stricken South Texas city, according to a report on the team’s website.
It was more than a month ago when an 18-year-old gunman opened fire at Robb Elementary School and took the lives of 19 students and two teachers before law enforcement officers fatally shot him.
The report said that the American League (AL) West-leading Astros were represented in the city of nearly 16,000 by the Astros Foundation, front office staff Astros Youth Academy players and staff, and a host of others, all of whom travelled by bus.
Astros Foundation executive director Paula Harris said that the franchise simply “wants to help,” per Houston ABC affiliate KTRK.
"There's nothing we can do besides what we do, and that's to give out a little joy and introduce kids to baseball,” Harris told the station.
KTRK reported that Astros owner Jim Crane led the contingent in an emotional visit to the school, which will soon be torn down and its students re-enrolled at other campuses.
"It's hard not to cry,” Crane said, the station reported. “It isn't easy to see that. You've got little kids. It's tough."
According to KTRK, the team hosted a private brunch for the families of the victims at the city’s civic center.
The families were gifted jerseys featuring autographs from players and coaches, the last name and age of their late son or daughter, per the station.
Martin Garcia, who lost his 10-year-old niece in the shooting, expressed appreciation toward the Astros, according to the team’s report.
“I don’t know how to thank them,” Garcia said in the report. “I don’t have the words. They’re heroes.”
The staff and patients at Memorial Hospital, which treated most of the victims, were visited by Orbit, the team’s mascot. The Shooting Stars, Astros Foundation volunteers and the Uvalde High School (UHS) baseball team played Wiffle ball with local children, per the report.
The Astros said that they’ve designated Aug. 14 – the day on which they play the final game of a weekend series against the Oakland Athletics – as Uvalde Day.