Kimberly Rubio spoke to us about how she’s honoring the memory of her child.
On May 24, 2022, an 18-year-old armed with two AR-style rifles walked into Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, and opened fire. He ended up killing 19 students and two teachers. Lexi Rubio, 10, was one of the victims in what has now become the deadliest school shooting in Texas history.
“We’re just devastated. We’re broken,” Lexi’s mother, Kimberly Rubio, told Katie Couric Media in a recent interview. “There is no moving forward. I think we’ll always just be stagnant. We really, really miss her.” Since Lexi’s death, Rubio has been on a mission to pass common-sense gun legislation and prevent future mass shootings. We spoke to Rubio about her upcoming trip to Washington D.C. with March Fourth, a nonprofit advocacy group that organizes to federally ban assault weapons. Rubio also spoke about why these next two weeks are crucial in the fight against gun violence.
Tell us about your daughter Lexi.
Lexi was a brilliant student and a talented athlete. She made the All-A honor roll and was awarded the Good Citizen Award on May 24. She had just finished the softball season and was looking forward to playing travel ball that upcoming summer. It’s a tragedy not just to us but to this entire world that her life was taken from her.
Walk us through what you experienced on May 24, 2022.
May 24 started off like any other day. We had two award ceremonies to attend at Robb Elementary. My son had his award ceremony at 8 a.m. and then Lexi had hers at 10:30. She received the Good Citizen Award and the All-A honor roll, which was not unlike Lexi — she was always receiving awards. We took a photo with her and then we asked her to take a photo with [her teacher] Mr. Reyes because he had taught her sister the year before and he’s an amazing teacher. She really loved him. That’s my last photo of her, it’s at 10:54 a.m.
We said we would take her for ice cream to celebrate later that day. As she was walking away, I said, “we’ll pick you up after school. I love you.” She just kind of turned back and smiled at me. And then we left. I really wish I’d taken her home then.
My husband was off that day, so he went home. He dropped me off at the newspaper, the Uvalde Leader-News, where I work. It wasn’t too long after that I started to hear on the scanner that there was a shooting on Diaz Street, which I know is nearby Robb Elementary. After that, at some point, I realized that I had to get to the school. So my sister picked me up and took me.
There were parents in hysteria outside when I got there — I had missed most of what was going on and I was super confused. They were telling us that law enforcement had it under control inside and we just needed to stay back and let them do their job.
After a while, they told us that we would be reunited with our children at the Civic Center. So I got a ride to the Civic Center. Bus after bus kept bringing kids, but not Lexi. We went to the local hospital to see if she was there — she wasn’t. My dad drove about an hour and a half to San Antonio to check at the university hospital — she wasn’t there. We went to the funeral home to see if they had anybody and she wasn’t there yet. So at that point, I said I wanted to go back to Robb. It was about a mile from the funeral home and I ran there.
When I got there, I just sat on the curb and waited. I felt like I was in the right place; it felt right because she was there. But they wouldn’t give us answers, so we went back to the Civic Center and shortly after that they came and got us and asked us to wait in a more quiet area. Then they sat us down and told us that Lexi was one of the victims. After that, it’s a blur. I know that it was evening because the sun was setting, which seems symbolic because that’s our life now, before and after.
What was it like to testify before Congress?
My advocacy began on June 8 of this year when I addressed Congress to demand a federal ban on assault weapons. This was three days before I buried my daughter. Since then, I haven’t turned down an opportunity to tell Lexi’s story or call for action. So when Kitty [Brandtner, the founder of March Fourth] reached out, we were happy to join forces with them and go to D.C. to ask our leaders to do their jobs.
What are you hoping to accomplish in Washington D.C. next week?
My husband and I will be in D.C. next week with March Fourth. They’re having a silent protest on December 6, at p.m. at the Capital. I really want America to realize that right now, especially during the holiday season, there are those of us who are incomplete. I also want moms and dads to realize that this could be their reality and that we should be working together for change. I hope that they’ll join us.
What’s motivating you to get up every day and continue doing this important work?
Right now I’m focusing on the assault weapons ban. It needs to be at a federal level. As the midterm election proved, Texas won’t be helping me out. I just want an end to mass shootings. There’s one common thing with all of these tragedies: An assault weapon. I think if we ban assault weapons, we’ll significantly decrease mass shootings and deaths. This bill was passed by the House of Representatives and it’s just been sitting with the Senate. While they wait, we’re burying children. It doesn’t make sense to me.
Lexi’s family has set up a scholarship fund in Lexi’s honor at St. Mary’s University in San Antonio. Lexi dreamed of going to St. Mary’s for college and she planned on majoring in mathematics before going on to law school. They’re hoping to reach their $50,000 goal to be able to send future lawyers to law school.
