“I’m scared that it might happen again”: Uvalde parents send their kids back to school

Aiko Coronado helps her daughter Adrianna Medina, 10, put on a necklace as she gets ready for the first day of classes in Uvalde on Sept. 6, 2022. Adrianna wore a custom shirt with “Uvalde Strong” on the front and a picture of herself with her cousin Maite Rodriguez, who died in the shooting, on the back. (Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune)

UVALDE — The morning was still pitch black, the neighborhood quiet enough to hear a pin drop. In their living room, 10-year-old Adrianna Medina and her three siblings got ready for the first day of school.

Adrianna had known since the night before that today she would step into Flores Elementary wearing green Converse sneakers, with a heart drawn on the right toe. The same kind of shoes Maite Rodriguez, her cousin and close friend, had worn on May 24 when she was killed at Robb Elementary along with 20 others.