Iowa lawmakers and Johnson County leaders expressed heartache, offered condolences, and demanded change in Iowa following the elementary school shooting in Texas on Tuesday. 

An 18-year-old shooter killed 19 students and two adults at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, on Tuesday. Law enforcement killed the gunman, who carried multiple weapons to the scene.

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds released a statement on Twitter with her husband, Kevin, and called for flags in Iowa to be flown at half-staff on Saturday to honor the victims.

“My heart breaks for all those affected by the tragic and senseless shooting in Uvalde, Texas,” Reynolds said. “Kevin and I join with Iowans in praying for all the parents, families, students, and staff involved. No parent or child should ever have to face this unimaginable tragedy.” 

My heart breaks for all those affected by the tragic and senseless shooting in Uvalde, Texas. Kevin and I join with Iowans in praying for all the parents, families, students and staff involved. No parent or child should ever have to face this unimaginable tragedy.

— Gov. Kim Reynolds (@IAGovernor) May 24, 2022

Iowa Senate Minority Leader Zach Wahls, D-Coralville, also expressed heartbreak and anger. 

“How many more must die before we address the scourge of gun violence in this country?” Wahls said. “Thoughts and prayers will not solve America’s gun violence problem. They will not bring back any of the lives we lost today, and they will not prevent the next massacre.”

I’m heartbroken, outraged, sickened. pic.twitter.com/uMcYs8xikW

— Zach Wahls (@ZachWahls) May 24, 2022

The shooting that occurred in Uvalde is the deadliest American school shooting since the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre 10 years ago when gunman Adam Lanza shot 20 children and six adults. 

U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said he will keep pushing for Congress to pass his EAGLES Act, which would give more resources to schools and law enforcement to prevent gun violence. 

2days killing of innocent children & a teacher is sickening &heartbreaking Schools shld be safe place for students/educators We stand w Robb Elementary & entire Uvalde TX community

— ChuckGrassley (@ChuckGrassley) May 24, 2022

Johnson County public officials and leaders are also going to social media to express outrage and sadness. 

“Our lottery of death is inevitable and will remain so until we break the gun cultism in America,” Johnson County Supervisor Jon Green wrote in a tweet. “As much as I wish I could agree with those saying it is untenable, I dissent.”

As much as I wish I could agree with those saying this is untenable, I dissent.

Our lottery of death is inevitable and will remain so until we break the gun cultism in America.

— Jon Green (@modestholdings) May 24, 2022

Janice Weiner, a Democratic candidate for Iowa State Senate District 45, created a list of statements and demands calling for change.

“Show me universal registration, mandatory insurance, red flag laws, gun safety classes,” Weiner said. “This is not/not a 2nd Amendment ‘well regulated militia.’ THIS is failing our children.”

1. Guns – automatic weapons – are antithetical to life.
2. Show me universal registration, mandatory insurance, red flag laws, gun safety classes.
3. This is not/not a 2nd Amendment “well regulated militia.”
4. THIS is failing our children. https://t.co/2dwbJZPMuw

— Janice Weiner (@janice4iowa) May 24, 2022

President Joe Biden gave his remarks Tuesday night after arriving back in Washington D.C., from a trip to Asia on Thursday. 

“What struck me was these kinds of mass shootings rarely happen anywhere else in the world. Why?” Biden said. “They have mental health problems. They have domestic disputes in other countries. They have people who are lost. But these kinds of mass shootings never happen with the kind of frequency they happen in America. Why? Why are we willing to live with this carnage?”