Father of a shooting victim: "My wife screamed like only a mother who has lost her child does"

"It's happened again in America."

"A school shooting at an elementary school in the small Texas town of Uvalde."

"The shooter killed at least 19 children and two adults before he was shot himself."

“On May 24, 2022, my son went to school and never made it home.

If I don't do anything and this happens again, then it's my fault.

My name is Brett Cross.

I live in Uvalde with my wife and our six children.

Right now I'm just fighting for my son's memory and for better gun laws here.

He was pure energy, he knew no breaks.

And he was always enthusiastic and happy.

He did everything he could to make people laugh.

In this office I edit videos about Uzi.

He meant the world to me.

And he still does.

That's why we do all this.

Because we don't want him to be forgotten.

Before the rampage, I didn't really think about a lot of things.

I haven't really thought about gun laws.

I remember I was at work when Sandy Hook happened.”

“Sandy Hook School.

A caller says someone is shooting in the building.”

“Breaking news about the school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut.”

“18 children died at school.

Two others were taken to hospital and died there.”

“Possible shooting at Stoneman Douglas High School.”

"17 people were killed, students and adults."

"Another community is in disbelief, in shock at destructive violence."

“So Parkland happened and I thought, man, that's bad.

But I have to go back to work.

I never thought about it because I thought it couldn't happen here.

Until it happened.

It started as a normal day.

I was in the office and sitting at my desk.

And then my wife calls and screams, 'This isn't a joke.

There's a gunman in her hallway, in the fourth grade hallway.' Then I hear 'Bam, bam, bam, bam' through the phone.

I drive straight to the community center and am one of the first there.

They tell us that the first buses with children and their classes will soon arrive.

So when you hear your teacher's name, go in and pick up your child after they are registered.

And every bus that arrived didn't say 'Mr.

Reyes' shouted.

That was Uzi's teacher.

We waited and waited and waited.

And finally they tell us that there are no more buses coming and we should all go in.

The detective puts his hands on the table and says, 'I'm sorry to inform you that Uziyah is one of the victims in the shooting.' And at that moment your whole world falls apart.

My wife screamed as only a mother who has lost her child does.

There is no other description.

That haunts you.

And finally we had to go home.

I went in and called my teenagers ahead of time so everyone would be in the living room.

I went in and told them Uzi didn't make it.

My two youngest collapsed and their legs simply couldn't support them anymore.

A child ran away.

That was the hardest thing I ever had to do: tell my kids that their brother wasn't coming home.

And that was the day.

"Incidents like these have become so common that they have come to define us as Americans." "

When are we going to finally do something about this problem that is unique to the United States?"

"There are bipartisan conversations about it.

But the Senate is divided and voters will decide who makes decisions in Washington after the midterm elections.

“The midterms six months after the shooting were the first elections I had voted in since I was 18.

So for 14 or 15 years, sort of.

And we voted in these midterms because we realized that the people in positions of power didn't care.

There is another election this year.

And when it comes to the question of Trump or Biden, there is a clear, simple answer.

"The idea that an 18-year-old can simply go to a gun store and buy two assault rifles is simply wrong."

"The fact that evil exists is one of the best reasons to arm law-abiding citizens."

"The world wasn't a better place when he was president.

So absolutely, 100 percent, absolutely: Fuck Trump, I won't vote for him.

I will vote in every single election from now on because we have to make a difference.

And if I let those who are in power do nothing, then I am almost complicit.

From a selfish perspective, my number one goal is to make sure Uzi is remembered.

And I also want to change gun laws so we can protect more people.

I don't think we'll ever get everything we want.

That's just not a logical idea.

So the fight will always go on.

I will fight until my last breath.”