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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
World
Jennifer Newton

Meghan Markle's impromptu visit to Texas shooting memorial - and her kind donation

Meghan Markle paid an emotional visit to a memorial for the 19 children and two teachers killed in a school shooting in Texas.

She was pictured placing a bouquet of white roses tied with a purple ribbon at one of the crosses put up in honour of the victims at Uvalde County Courthouse - not far from Robb Elementary School where the massacre unfolded.

The memorial, overlooking a pond, consists of a series of crosses with tags bearing the names of those who were killed.

A spokesperson for the duchess said she took the trip in a personal capacity as a mother to offer her condolences and in-person support to a community in grief.

Meghan Markle lays flowers at a makeshift memorial to the victims of the Texas school shooting in Uvalde (AFP via Getty Images)

Meghan's low-key visit to the grieving town was unannounced and she dressed down in jeans, a T-shirt and a baseball cap. She was without her husband Prince Harry.

Pictures, taken by news agency photographers, and footage of Meghan at the memorial, shows her laying the flowers and reading the crosses as her new bodyguard Alberto Alvarez looks on.

Photographers and camera crews had reportedly already been at the scene, which has turned into an impromptu memorial for the victims.

Meghan looks at the crosses that have been placed at the memorial in honour of the victims (AFP via Getty Images)

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During her visit, Meghan did not speak to any of the press there and according to MailOnline, it was unclear if she was accompanied by a Netflix camera crew.

Meanwhile, also on her visit to Uvalde, Meghan stopped by the Herby Ham Activity Center, which was hosting a blood giving drive.

Meghan also visited a community centre where she donated food (AFP via Getty Images)

According to Buzzfeed, Meghan quietly visited the centre and brought two "large crates" filled with sandwiches and other snacks, to give to donors.

Some volunteers are said to have recognised the Duchess, while others did not.

One of the volunteers at the centre told the outlet she didn't even know it was Meghan making the donation.

A spokesperson for the duchess said she took the trip in a personal capacity as a mother (AFP via Getty Images)

Gloria Contreras said: "I had no idea who she was. She just was carrying on a conversation like her and I knew each other for years."

While Georjean Burnell added that Meghan was "really sweet" and said: "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."

Meghan did pose for a photo with some of the volunteers, but it has been reported that she agreed to the picture after being asked by a volunteer, who recognised her.

Buzzfeed reporter Ellie Hall later took to Twitter, where she wrote how that Meghan did not have cameras or a film crew with her - only a small security team.

On Tuesday, 18-year-old Salvador Ramos used a semi-automatic rifle to shoot pupils and teachers at the school in the town.

The gunman barricaded himself in a classroom and opened fire until police eventually broke in and shot him dead.

The Uvalde shooting is the deadliest attack of its kind since 20 elementary-age children and six staff were killed at the Sandy Hook school in Newtown, Connecticut in 2012.

The massacre has reignited a national debate over the country's gun laws.

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