Meghan Markle pays tribute to Texas school shooting victims with trip to Uvalde

Meghan Markle visited Uvalde on Thursday to pay tribute to the 21 people killed in the Texas school shooting and to help volunteers at a local blood drive. 

• Meghan Markle paid a visit to Uvalde, Texas, on Thursday, to pay tribute to the victims of the deadly school shooting that struck the town on Tuesday. 
• The Duchess of Sussex was pictured laying flowers at a memorial site for the 21 people killed in the horrific massacre and assisting volunteers at a community blood drive.
• In other royal news, the real reason 'nobody expected' Prince William and Kate Middleton's relationship to last.
  

Meghan Markle traveled to Uvalde on Thursday, to pay tribute to the victims of the Texas school shooting and assist volunteers at a community blood drive. 

The Duchess of Sussex was photographed laying a bouquet of white roses at a memorial site for the victims of the massacre, which killed 21 people, including two adults and 19 children. According to her representative, Meghan wanted to visit Uvalde in a "personal capacity as a mother" so that she could extend "her condolences and support in-person to a community experiencing unimaginable grief."

Her appearance comes shortly after Naomi Campbell, Matthew McConaughey, and other celebrities reacted to the Texas school shooting, which occurred on Tuesday morning at Robbs Elementary School. The deadly attack had the highest death toll for a US school shooting since Sandy Hook in 2012 and has prompted an outpouring of anger over the country's current gun control laws. 

Volunteers at the Herby Ham Activity Center later told reporters that the Duchess, who was accompanied by her bodyguard, had turned up unexpectedly with two "large" boxes of sandwiches, drinks, and desserts to give to blood donors. She also lent a hand at the drive, which was organized by South Texas Blood and Tissue in response to the urgent need for blood donations following the shooting. 

"She was just really sweet," volunteer Georjean Burnell told BuzzFeed News. "She just kind of walked in with her [security] crew and started putting ice waters in the bucket with us and laying out chips for the people who were needing snacks before and after donating."

Dressed simply in a white t-shirt, blue jeans, and a dark blue baseball cap, Meghan's celebrity status reportedly went unnoticed by the volunteers. 

"It's funny, we didn't even know it was her until after she left and now we're so sad. I mean, to be honest, we thought she was our neighbor," Burnell added.