Matthew McConaughey and Uvalde: proud Texan hails from city of school shooting horror

Actor says we 'must do better' after killings at Robb Elementary School

Matthew McConaughey has urged Americans to reassess their values after the killings at a school in his home town, Uvalde. EPA

After Tuesday's deadly mass shooting at a school in the US, a number of Hollywood stars voiced their dismay and distress. For Matthew McConaughey, however, the horror is extremely close to home, as the actor is from Uvalde, Texas, where the attack took place.

McConaughey, 52, spoke about the killings at Robb Elementary School, calling for change in a post shared on social media.

"As you all are aware there was another mass shooting today, this time in my home town of Uvalde, Texas. Once again, we have tragically proven that we are failing to be responsible for the rights our freedoms grant us,” the Oscar winner wrote.

"As Americans, Texans, mothers and fathers, it's time we re-evaluate, and renegotiate our wants from our needs. We have to rearrange our values and find a common ground above this devastating American reality that has tragically become our children's issue.

"This is an epidemic we can control, and whichever side of the aisle we may stand on, we all know we can do better. We must do better. Action must be taken so that no parent has to experience what the parents in Uvalde and the others before them have endured.”

Matthew McConaughey: 'A certain honour of being a Texan'

McConaughey has spoken about his hometown in the past. He was born in the city, west of San Antonio, in 1969, and moved when his family relocated to Longview, Texas, in 1980.

In the years since he has "slipped in and out of town on numerous occasions", said the Uvalde Leader-News.

Matthew McConaughey was born in Uvalde, Texas, in 1969. AP Photo

The actor considered moving from acting to public office, contemplating a 2022 run for Texas governor, saying he would only run if he was “best-equipped” or could make himself “useful".

However, it is something he ultimately ruled out in November.

"As a simple kid born in the little town of Uvalde, Texas, it never occurred to me that I would one day be considered for political leadership," McConaughey said as he announced he would not be running.

"It's a humbling and inspiring path to ponder. It is also a path that I'm choosing not to take at this moment."

At an Uvalde Area Chamber of Commerce event in February 2020, the actor made a public appearance with his mother, Kay McConaughey, and brother Mike McConaughey, also known as Rooster.

Kay, who was a teacher in the town, described it as "the most perfect place to raise children", and the Uvalde Leader-News reported that Matthew said "he didn’t learn to dream in Uvalde, he learnt to deal".

At the same event, his brother said of the town: "So many successful people came and learnt and left this town and went out and [succeeded]. This town is giving to people that live here."

The actor remains a proud Texan and lives in Austin, with his wife, Brazilian-American model Camila Alves, and their children, Levi, 13, Vida, 12, and Livingston, 9.

"In Texas, there is a certain honour of being a Texan that is a measure of doing something the best that you can. You have your name ... You have your nation — because you're American. You have, if you're a believer, because of God. And in Texas, you have a fourth measure. It's because you're a Texan," he told ABC in 2016.

"The Texas I grew up in was not insular at all, there is a certain thing that goes about Texans that says, ‘Go, out, use your passport, go travel all around the world, go see other places, go as a Texan, go venture out there.' You know, the rugged individual. It wasn't insular in that way, like a lot of places in the South might be and are.

"I like to say I live in Austin, Texas, because I can live where I want to."

The city of Uvalde, Texas

By Texan standards, Uvalde is a relatively small city with a population of about 15,860, statistics compiled by worldpopulationreview.com show, with mainly Hispanic and Latino communities. It is part of Uvalde County, about 130 kilometres west of San Antonio and 87km east of the Mexican border.

An aerial view of Robb Elementary School where the shooting took place. Getty Images / AFP

"Uvalde is the iconic Texas of Western movies. Indigenous peoples used the hill south of town on the Leona river as a lookout for centuries and in 1849 the United States Army chose this strategic location to build Fort Inge," the City of Uvalde website reads.

"Uvalde is on the edge of the infamous Nueces Strip where lawmen hunted down outlaws headed towards the border. One of the outlaws later became Uvalde’s Sheriff, John King Fisher."

Attractions in the area include Cook's Slough Nature Park, the Aviation Museum of Texas at Garner Field, the Sahawe Indian Outdoor Theatre and the Janey Slaughter Briscoe Grand Opera House.

Latest photos from Uvalde, Texas after the school shooting:

Alanna De Leon writes the name of her friend, Annabelle Rodriguez, who died in the shooting. AFP

Pallbearers carry the coffin of Amerie Jo Garza into Sacred Heart Catholic Church. AP

Pallbearers carry the coffin of Amerie Jo Garza, who died in the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School. AFP

A memorial in Town Square, Uvalde, Texas, for victims of the Robb Elementary school shooting. Reuters

A woman places a rose on Layla Salazar’s memorial cross, who was one of the victims that died in the shooting. Reuters

Bags with brisket sandwiches and a snack that will be sold at a fundraiser for families of the victims. Reuters

Ashtyn Leigh, 18, hands a man a brisket meal. Reuters

A choir sings in front of the memorial. Reuters

People pray in front of memorial crosses. Reuters

Nineteen children and two adults were killed in the shooting. AFP

People visit a memorial for the victims. AFP

Flowers are left outside the school. AFP

Twenty-one empty chairs are seen outside of a daycare center as a memorial for the victims. AP Photo

Football teammates of Tess Mata, who died in the Texas school shooting, cry as they visit a makeshift memorial outside the Uvalde County Courthouse. AFP

A football teammate of shooting victim Tess Mata cries, supported by her mother. AFP

Texas police faced angry questions over why it took an hour to stop the gunman who murdered 19 children and two teachers in Uvalde, as video emerged of desperate parents begging officers to storm the school. AFP

Activists join Senate Democrats outside the Capitol, in Washington, to demand action on gun control legislation after the killings at the Texas elementary school this week. AP

The George R Brown Convention Centre, site of the National Rifle Association annual convention. Days after the deadliest mass school shooting in Texas history, the gun lobbyist group is meeting in Houston, from Friday until Sunday. Reuters

Pastor Carlos Contreras preaches to his congregation as photos of some of the children killed in the mass shooting at Robb Elementary flash on the screen at Primera Iglesia Bautista, in Uvalde. Reuters

People march after a vigil held to stand with the Uvalde families and demand an end to gun violence in Newtown, Connecticut. AP

A woman holds up a banner at the end of the vigil in Newtown, Connecticut. AP

Newtown was the scene of the 2012 attack at Sandy Hook Elementary School, when 20 pupils and six teachers were killed by a gunman. AP

Candles are lit for each victim as people pray at St Philip's Episcopal Church. EPA

A makeshift memorial in front of Robb Elementary School. AFP

Omahar Padillo with his son Omahar Jr, 12, during a community prayer, in Pharr, Texas, for the shooting victims at Robb Elementary School. AP

Omahar Padillo Jr, 12, and his sister Samantha, 9, with their mother, Silvia Padillo, write messages in support of the victims at Robb Elementary School. AP

A vigil for the victims of the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School. AFP

A young mourner at the vigil in Uvalde, Texas. AFP

Families at the vigil. AFP

A woman holds a photo of Nevaeh Bravo, who was killed in the mass shooting, during a vigil for the victims of the massacre in Uvalde, Texas. AFP

Uvalde County Sheriff Ruben Nolasco is comforted by Senator Ted Cruz during a vigil at the Uvalde County Fairplex Arena. AP

Diana Karau of Uvalde with a therapy dog named Tritan before a vigil to honour those killed at Robb Elementary. AP

Gun-control advocates Dana Cibulski, left, and Judi Giannini attend a vigil outside the National Rifle Association headquarters in Fairfax, Virginia after the mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas. AFP

Uziyah Garcia, 8, was among those killed in the shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. AP

Pastor Jaime Cabralez, the uncle of shooting victim 10-year-old Eliahana Cruz Torres, is surrounded in prayer at his church in Uvalde, Texas on Wednesday. Reuters

A woman embraces a child outside Willie de Leon Civic Centre, in Uvalde, where pupils were taken after the school shooting. Bloomberg

Gun-control advocates hold a vigil outside the National Rifle Association (NRA) headquarters in Fairfax, Virginia. AFP

A woman and child leave the Civic Centre. Reuters