Walmart has apologized after a man whose son was killed in the 2023 Texas school mass shooting didn't see the humor in a T-shirt the chain was selling that mocks Uvalde. "Intent doesn't equal impact," Brett Cross said, per USA Today. "It doesn't matter if Walmart thought it was a fun/cute shirt. What matters is you are downplaying my son's death, his teachers' and classmates' death." The shirt, which the retailer has since pulled, had the outline of the state of Texas with the words, "Where the heck is Uvalde, Texas?"
Cross answered the question in a post on X, writing, "Oh you know, that town by San Antonio where 19 kids and two teachers were killed." Walmart made its decision after the post received thousands of likes, per KLAQ, though the company did not contact Cross. "Our store managers have the ability to purchase merchandise that is locally relevant," the company said. "Though well intended, we apologize for any distress this item has caused." Walmart said the shirt was removed from stores "once we learned that it was perceived negatively by some customers."
Cross said he thinks the frequency of school shootings has desensitized society to them, per USA Today. He and his wife were raising Uziyah, his nephew, who was a student at Robb Elementary, as their own child. Uziyah was 10 when he was shot to death. (More Uvalde mass shooting stories.)
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