Dak Prescott on Texas Shooting: ‘It Makes Me Fearful to Have Children’

Editor’s note: This story contains details of a mass casualty event and gun violence.

Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott expressed sadness and concern Wednesday as he discussed Tuesday’s shooting in Uvalde, Texas. Prescott said the event “makes me fearful to have children.” 

A suspected 18-year-old gunman abandoned his vehicle, entered Robb Elementary School and killed at least 21 people Tuesday. The deaths include 19 children and two adults.

“Honestly, it makes me fearful to have children, and that’s not right,” Prescott told reporters Wednesday, per the Dallas Morning News’ Michael Gehlken. “That’s sad.”

Cowboys defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence also commented that he does not feel safe sending his kids to school each day.

“... I know other parents feel the same way,” Lawrence told the News. “[In locker room,] I hit up my wife. ‘How are the kids? Are they home yet?’ It’s something you wouldn’t expect. But this is what we are dealing with.”

Prescott and Lawrence are two of the many sports figures to speak out about the shooting in Uvalde, which marked the 27th school shooting in 2022 and the deadliest school shooting since the Sandy Hook Elementary shooting in December 2012. 

The Cowboys, along with the Texans, released statements on Tuesday sharing their condolences to the victims of the shooting.

“The entire Dallas Cowboys organization grieves alongside the community of Uvalde and all of those affected by today’s tragic event,” the Cowboys wrote. “As we mourn the loss of innocent life, our hearts and prayers are with the victims’ families, loved ones, faculty and staff of Robb Elementary.”