heartwrenching

11-year-old Uvalde survivor testifies before Congress

A fourth-grade student who survived the Robb Elementary School shooting in Uvalde, Texas testified before Congress on Wednesday as part of the House Oversight Committee's hearing on gun violence.

In a pre-recorded video played before the committee, 11-year-old Miah Cerrillo spoke of how she covered herself in her friend's blood to trick the shooter and watched as he told her teacher "good night and shot her in the head."

"And then he shot some of my classmates and the whiteboard," Cerillo continued, per the Texas Tribune.

The young girl said she did not feel safe in school and did "not want it to happen again." When asked if she thought a shooting like this would happen again, Cerrillo nodded yes.

Her father, Miguel Cerrillo, traveled to Washington to testify before lawmakers in person. "This is not our Miah. This is not our TikTok dancer. This is not our playful Miah, you know? This is not our Miah," he told The Washington Post shortly after his testimony. Miah was supposed to speak before the committee in person, but was then triggered by the thought of bright lights and camera noises.

The hearing also featured testimony from a number of other victims and survivors, including Felix and Kimberly Rubio, whose daughter Lexi was killed in the Uvalde shooting, and Zeneta Everhart, the mother of one of those wounded in the Buffalo supermarket shooting.

The House is set to vote on a gun control package late Wednesday.