Sangamon Sun

Illinois State Rep. Sue Scherer (D-Decatur) shared her shock and sadness over the violence at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, this week. 

On Tuesday, May 24, 19 children at Robb Elementary School and two teachers lost their lives when a male individual walked into a classroom and started shooting, a Thursday New York Times report said. Following the tragedy, legislators across the country shared their sorrow, including Scherer. 

"My heart is heavy this evening," she said in a Tuesday Facebook post. "No innocent child or hardworking educator should ever experience what the children and faculty of Robb Elementary experienced today. As a former educator, I can’t imagine. The loss is unimaginable. School is the one place we should all feel safe. My prayers are with not only the families of those whose lives were lost, but with every witness and community member."

Only a few hours before news broke of the shooting in Uvalde, Scherer had visited teachers at South Shores Elementary School in Decatur, where she supported them during their last week of school. 

"'We Love our Teachers' is my motto for the week!!" Scherer said in an earlier Tuesday Facebook post. "For many, this is the last week of school! Keep going! You’re almost there! I very much enjoyed my visit to South Shores Elementary!"

Currently, officials are still trying to put together a timeline of the events that transpired in Uvalde, which included the shooting of two police officers early in the incident. Initial reports of a gunman approaching the school came at approximately 11:30 a.m. on Tuesday and ended a few hours later when the 18-year-old high school dropout was killed just after 1 p.m., the Times report said.

In addition to those who were killed, 17 other victims were wounded in the shooting, a Wednesday NPR report said. The gunman was killed by law enforcement officers.