I shouldn’t have to be here right now, but I am, because my friends don’t have a voice no more… Greg Abbott has done nothing to protect me or my friends. I had to wait there for 77 minutes. And then I heard the glass break.

I had to run to the funeral home—with no shoes on. I had splinters. I had glass in my foot. Bruised up. I had no phone. And I kept asking my mom, ‘Where is she?’

— Caitlyne Gonzales, 10-year-old Uvalde survivor, gun reform rally, after losing her best friend Jackie Cazares

Many of us can’t imagine what it means to survive a school shooting. We can’t imagine running barefoot over broken glass, texting our best friend in desperation, only to never get a response. But for Caitlyne Gonzales, a 10-year-old girl that was—is—her reality. And the reality of countless families in Uvalde, Texas, still healing nearly three years after the tragedy at Robb Elementary.

Image Credit: CDC from Unsplash

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A Settlement Years in the Making

In April 2025, the City of Uvalde approved a $2 million legal settlement for the families of the victims of the Robb Elementary shooting. This is the first financial resolution since the mass shooting on May 24, 2022, when 19 children and 2 teachers were killed—all in a matter of 77 minutes, while law enforcement stood outside the classroom door, afraid.

The settlement is part of a larger effort by the city to take responsibility and implement reforms. The agreement includes several non-financial commitments:

• Annual training for local police on active shooter protocols and crisis response.
• New hiring standards and psychological evaluations for school resource officers.
• Expanded mental health services for survivors and the community, including school-based trauma counseling.
• An annual city-wide Day of Remembrance on May 24 to honor the victims.

While the $2 million can never fully make up for the loss, these reforms aim to prevent future tragedies and represent a step toward greater accountability.

Image Credit: Jackson Emery from Unsplash

The Fight Isn’t Over

But for families like Caitlyne’s, no settlement will ever be enough.

She was in fourth grade when a gunman, 18-year-old Salvador Ramos, entered her school and changed her life forever. She had just returned from an award ceremony when the gunshots started. As officers waited outside the classroom door for over an hour, children inside, including Caitlyne, whispered prayers, cried quietly, and held tightly to each other.

After the shooting, Caitlyne became one of the youngest voices speaking out for gun reform. At a rally held months later, she recounted her story with a quiet strength far beyond her years. Her best friend, Jackie Cazares, was among those murdered that day.

“I texted Jackie... Eliahna is missing. Are you okay?” she said. “The next day I got the worst news any child should get.”

Image Credit: VOA from Wikimedia

Legal experts say this settlement is symbolically important but doesn't end the legal battles. Several lawsuits are still ongoing:

• One against the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District for negligent security and failure to act on warning signs.
• A case against local and state law enforcement for not following active shooter protocols during the 77 minutes they waited outside.
• Another against Daniel Defense, the maker of the AR-15-style rifle used in the shooting, over marketing practices targeting young buyers.

However, holding officials accountable is difficult due to legal protections like qualified immunity, which shields government workers—such as police—from civil lawsuits unless it's shown they broke clearly established law.

Even so, this settlement matters. It acknowledges, in some small way, that the system failed. That children like Caitlyne were left waiting.

That families were left grieving. And that reform is long overdue.

Caitlyne once said she speaks because her friends can’t. Her courage, and the courage of every survivor, is the reason this fight continues.

Because for them, justice isn’t just a legal term. It’s a promise that what happened in Uvalde will never happen again.

Image Credit: U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) from Wikimedia

Not just Uvalde, but Sandy Hook. Parkland. Columbine.

Santa Fe. Oxford. Virginia Tech. The Covenant School. Along with the most recent one at Florida State University, just a couple of days ago. Each name is a reminder that the time for change was long ago—and it is still urgently needed today.

What does it take for America to change?

Change is long overdue.

If lawmakers won’t act, we must. Share their names. Demand reform. Here are some ways you can get involved:

• Call or email your representatives: Express your support for gun reform and demand stronger school safety laws.
• Sign petitions: Join initiatives like Change.org's Gun reform petition, which seeks stronger regulations on firearms and school safety.
• Support advocacy groups: Organizations like Everytown for Gun Safety (founded in response to the Sandy Hook elementary school shooting) and March For Our Lives (founded by student survivors of the Parkland shooting) are working to pass common-sense gun laws. Consider donating or volunteering.

Because silence lets this happen again.