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Miguel Cerrillo, the father of Miah Cerrillo a fourth-grade student at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, wipes his eye as he testifies during a House Committee on Oversight and Reform hearing on gun violence on Capitol Hill, June 8, 2022 in Washington, D.C. (Photo: Andrew Harnik-Pool/Getty Images)
A fourth-grader from Uvalde, Texas who survived the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School last month was among those who gave powerful eye-witness testimony Wednesday at a House hearing on gun violence.
"And then he shot some of my classmates."
The testimony from Miah Cerrillo--who previously revealed chilling details of how she survived the May 24 massacre that left 19 students and two teachers dead--came during the Committee on Oversight and Reform's hearing entitled "The Urgent Need to Address the Gun Violence Epidemic."
In her remarks, provided via previously recorded video, Cerrillo said that her teacher "made eye contact" with the gunman, who was in the hallway, as she went to lock the door and told the students to hide.
The gunman entered her classroom from a door to an adjoining classroom, she explained.
Then, Cerrillo said, the gunman "shot my teacher and told my teacher 'Good night' and shot her in the head. And then he shot some of my classmates."
"When I went to the backpacks, he shot my friend that was next to me," she said. "I thought he was gonna come back to the room so I grabbed the blood and I put it all over me" and "stayed quiet."
After that, she said, "I got my teacher's phone and called 911" and told the dispatcher "that we need help."
Asked if she felt safe at school, Miah shook her head no and said "because I don't want it to happen again."
When then asked if she thought such an event is going to happen again, she nodded in the affirmative.
Watch her testimony below:
Miah's father, Miguel Cerrillo, spoke briefly in person at the hearing after his daughter's video testimony. "I could have lost my baby girl," he said through tears, adding that "she is not the same little girl that I used to play with and run with and do everything."
"I wish something will change," he said, "not only for our kids but for every single kid in the world because schools are not safe anymore."
Other witnesses at the congressional hearing included Zeneta Everhart, whose son Zaire Goodman was shot in the neck during the May 14 mass shooting in Buffalo, New York. Felix and Kimberly Rubio, whose 10-year-old daughter Lexi was shot and killed in Uvalde, also testified, as did Dr. Roy Guerrero, a pediatrician in Uvalde.
"After 19 innocent children and two teachers lost their lives in Texas just 10 days after the mass shooting in my home state of New York, I'm turning my anger into action," said Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.), chair of the committee, in a statement.
Maloney said the hearing would "examine the terrible impact of gun violence and the urgent need to rein in the weapons of war used to perpetrate these crimes" and expressed hope her colleagues would "listen with an open heart as gun violence survivors and loved ones recount one of the darkest days of their lives."
"This hearing is ultimately about saving lives, and I hope it will galvanize my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to pass legislation to do just that," she said.
This is an update from an earlier version of this story.
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A fourth-grader from Uvalde, Texas who survived the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School last month was among those who gave powerful eye-witness testimony Wednesday at a House hearing on gun violence.
"And then he shot some of my classmates."
The testimony from Miah Cerrillo--who previously revealed chilling details of how she survived the May 24 massacre that left 19 students and two teachers dead--came during the Committee on Oversight and Reform's hearing entitled "The Urgent Need to Address the Gun Violence Epidemic."
In her remarks, provided via previously recorded video, Cerrillo said that her teacher "made eye contact" with the gunman, who was in the hallway, as she went to lock the door and told the students to hide.
The gunman entered her classroom from a door to an adjoining classroom, she explained.
Then, Cerrillo said, the gunman "shot my teacher and told my teacher 'Good night' and shot her in the head. And then he shot some of my classmates."
"When I went to the backpacks, he shot my friend that was next to me," she said. "I thought he was gonna come back to the room so I grabbed the blood and I put it all over me" and "stayed quiet."
After that, she said, "I got my teacher's phone and called 911" and told the dispatcher "that we need help."
Asked if she felt safe at school, Miah shook her head no and said "because I don't want it to happen again."
When then asked if she thought such an event is going to happen again, she nodded in the affirmative.
Watch her testimony below:
Miah's father, Miguel Cerrillo, spoke briefly in person at the hearing after his daughter's video testimony. "I could have lost my baby girl," he said through tears, adding that "she is not the same little girl that I used to play with and run with and do everything."
"I wish something will change," he said, "not only for our kids but for every single kid in the world because schools are not safe anymore."
Other witnesses at the congressional hearing included Zeneta Everhart, whose son Zaire Goodman was shot in the neck during the May 14 mass shooting in Buffalo, New York. Felix and Kimberly Rubio, whose 10-year-old daughter Lexi was shot and killed in Uvalde, also testified, as did Dr. Roy Guerrero, a pediatrician in Uvalde.
"After 19 innocent children and two teachers lost their lives in Texas just 10 days after the mass shooting in my home state of New York, I'm turning my anger into action," said Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.), chair of the committee, in a statement.
Maloney said the hearing would "examine the terrible impact of gun violence and the urgent need to rein in the weapons of war used to perpetrate these crimes" and expressed hope her colleagues would "listen with an open heart as gun violence survivors and loved ones recount one of the darkest days of their lives."
"This hearing is ultimately about saving lives, and I hope it will galvanize my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to pass legislation to do just that," she said.
This is an update from an earlier version of this story.
A fourth-grader from Uvalde, Texas who survived the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School last month was among those who gave powerful eye-witness testimony Wednesday at a House hearing on gun violence.
"And then he shot some of my classmates."
The testimony from Miah Cerrillo--who previously revealed chilling details of how she survived the May 24 massacre that left 19 students and two teachers dead--came during the Committee on Oversight and Reform's hearing entitled "The Urgent Need to Address the Gun Violence Epidemic."
In her remarks, provided via previously recorded video, Cerrillo said that her teacher "made eye contact" with the gunman, who was in the hallway, as she went to lock the door and told the students to hide.
The gunman entered her classroom from a door to an adjoining classroom, she explained.
Then, Cerrillo said, the gunman "shot my teacher and told my teacher 'Good night' and shot her in the head. And then he shot some of my classmates."
"When I went to the backpacks, he shot my friend that was next to me," she said. "I thought he was gonna come back to the room so I grabbed the blood and I put it all over me" and "stayed quiet."
After that, she said, "I got my teacher's phone and called 911" and told the dispatcher "that we need help."
Asked if she felt safe at school, Miah shook her head no and said "because I don't want it to happen again."
When then asked if she thought such an event is going to happen again, she nodded in the affirmative.
Watch her testimony below:
Miah's father, Miguel Cerrillo, spoke briefly in person at the hearing after his daughter's video testimony. "I could have lost my baby girl," he said through tears, adding that "she is not the same little girl that I used to play with and run with and do everything."
"I wish something will change," he said, "not only for our kids but for every single kid in the world because schools are not safe anymore."
Other witnesses at the congressional hearing included Zeneta Everhart, whose son Zaire Goodman was shot in the neck during the May 14 mass shooting in Buffalo, New York. Felix and Kimberly Rubio, whose 10-year-old daughter Lexi was shot and killed in Uvalde, also testified, as did Dr. Roy Guerrero, a pediatrician in Uvalde.
"After 19 innocent children and two teachers lost their lives in Texas just 10 days after the mass shooting in my home state of New York, I'm turning my anger into action," said Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.), chair of the committee, in a statement.
Maloney said the hearing would "examine the terrible impact of gun violence and the urgent need to rein in the weapons of war used to perpetrate these crimes" and expressed hope her colleagues would "listen with an open heart as gun violence survivors and loved ones recount one of the darkest days of their lives."
"This hearing is ultimately about saving lives, and I hope it will galvanize my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to pass legislation to do just that," she said.
This is an update from an earlier version of this story.