Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, pays respects to Texas school shooting victims

Duchess of Sussex placed flowers at makeshift memorial for 19 children and two adults killed in Uvalde, Texas

Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, places flowers at a makeshift memorial outside Uvalde County Courthouse in Uvalde, Texas. AFP

The Duchess of Sussex in Uvalde, Texas. AP

Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, leaves flowers at a memorial site for the victims killed in this week's primary school shooting in Uvalde, Texas. AP

The Duchess of Sussex visits a memorial site for the 19 children and two adults gunned down in Uvalde, Texas. AP

The tight-knit Latino community of Uvalde on May 24 became the site of the worst school shooting in a decade, committed by an 18-year-old armed with a legally bought assault rifle. AFP

Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, at a makeshift memorial outside Uvalde County Courthouse in Uvalde, Texas. AFP

Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, on Thursday paid a visit to a memorial site for the victims of the deadly primary school shooting in Texas.

A gunman killed 19 children and two teachers on Tuesday at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde.

Meghan placed white flowers tied with a purple ribbon at the memorial outside the Uvalde County Courthouse.

The Duchess of Sussex lives in California with her husband, Prince Harry, and their two children. She took the trip to Texas in a personal capacity to offer her condolences and support to a “community experiencing unimaginable grief”, her representative said.

The Duchess is not the only celebrity is shine a brighter light on the horrific tragedy — actor Matthew McConaughey, was born in Uvalde, Texas, and spoke out about the killings in a post on social media, calling for change.

“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.”

Meanwhile, US Senate Republicans blocked a bill titled the Domestic Terrorism Prevention Act in Congress on Thursday that Democrats viewed as a response to a white supremacist's killing of 10 black people this month and a potential gateway to a gun control bill.

Two days after the school shooting in Uvalde, senators voted 47-47 along party lines, short of the 60 senators required to launch debate, to reject the bill authorising federal agencies to monitor and report jointly on domestic terrorism within the US, including incidents related to white supremacy.

“America has more guns than people in this country. If more guns were indeed the solution, we would be the safest country in the world,” said White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.

“But we are not. And so the president has been very clear: He wants action. He wants to Congress to take action. He wants to turn this pain into action.

“And I hope the Senate, and particularly those who have been unwilling to act in the face of previous tragedies, will act now. And that's what we are hoping and urging Congress to do.”

The primary school shooting occurred days before Texas Governor Greg Abbott, senator Ted Cruz and former president Donald Trump are scheduled to speak at a National Rifle Association conference in Houston, Texas on Saturday.

“What is inappropriate is that the leadership of the [lobby group] National Rifle Association has proven time and time again that they are contributing to the problem of gun violence and not trying to solve it,” Ms Jean-Pierre added.

Agencies contributed to this report