In Uvalde, a woman in clown colors makes kids smile

Deturice Dunbar, aka Bippy the Clown, says God gave her "an assignment" to come to Uvalde, Texas, and bring smiles to children's faces in the aftermath of last week's school shooting there. Dunbar knows the pain of a parent waiting to know about her child's condition after a shooting: Her daughter was shot twice in February in New Orleans. "She lived, thank God," Dunbar says. (Laurel Wamsley/NPR)

UVALDE, Texas — One week after the school shooting here, locals and out-of-towners stop by a makeshift memorial in the town square to lay flowers, light candles and say prayers.

Under a blue canopy to block the hot South Texas sun, a woman wearing the face paint and bright colors of a clown calls out. Her apron says Bippy's World, the clowning business she operates in Houston.