Matthew McConaughey is addressing the tragic school shooting that left at least 19 children and two adults dead Tuesday morning in his Texas hometown.
Taking to social media, McConaughey called for action in the wake of the massacre that unfolded at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, which is where the Oscar winner spent the first 12 years of his life.
"Once again we have tragically proven that we are failing to be responsible for the rights our freedoms grant us," the "Dallas Buyers Club" actor wrote in a statement on Twitter.
"What is it that we truly value? How do we repair the problem? What small sacrifices can we individually take today, to preserve a healthier and safer nation, state and neighborhood tomorrow?"
These, he said, are questions Americans need to ask themselves. He stated that the nation cannot accept mass shootings as the status quo.
"As Americans, Texans, mother and fathers, it's time we re-evaluate, and renegotiate our wants from our needs," he continued. "We have to rearrange our values and find a common ground above this devastating American reality that has tragically become our children's issue."
McConaughey described the mass shooting incident, which is the deadliest school shooting since Sandy Hook Elementary in Connecticut in 2012, as an "epidemic we can control," adding that regardless of political leanings, "we all know we can do better."
"Action must be taken so that no parent has to experience what the parents in Uvalde and the others before them have endured."
McConaughey concluded his statement by saying that, while no words could comprehend or heal the loss that the parents whose children were killed in the shooting experienced, "if prayers can provide comfort, we will keep them coming."
The gunman, 18-year-old Salvador Ramos, shot his grandmother before driving to Robb Elementary School where he overpowered an officer, USA Today reported, citing Texas Department of Public Safety Sgt. Erick Estrada.
According to reports, all the children and teachers who died were inside a single classroom. Ramos barricaded himself inside the classroom before being fatally shot by a Border Patrol agent, according to Fox News.
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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