Sunday 29 May 2022 01:46 PM Biden and First Lady Jill board Air Force One for Uvalde, Texas visit to grieve ... trends now President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden boarded Air Force One early on Sunday morning for a somber visit to Uvalde, Texas, after 19 children and two teachers were shot dead inside an elementary school classroom there last week. The commander-in-chief and his wife were both clad in black when they boarded the plane in an air field in Delaware, where the first couple regularly spend their weekends. His visit comes as the small southwestern town is still reeling after an 18-year-old gunman walked into Robb Elementary School through an unlocked door last Tuesday, where he proceeded to barricade himself in a classroom for nearly an hour as police were outside and frightened parents begged them to break in and confront the shooter. The teen was later killed by a Border Patrol officer. Biden is expected to arrive in Uvalde at 11 a.m. local time. He and Dr. Jill Biden will first visit the memorial site that was set up outside of the school to honor the victims. They'll then attend services at Sacred Heart Catholic Church, where late last week a special mass was held in honor of the 21 people killed. The president and first lady were clad in black when they arrived at Delaware Air National Guard Base early on Sunday morning They're headed for an all-day visit to Uvalde, Texas to honor the victims of the mass shooting there last week They're expected to visit with family members of survivors and victims They'll also meet with first responders from the small, southwest Texas community Much of the event will be closed to press after they visit the Robb Elementary School memorial, seemingly to give those still reeling from the tragedy space The president normally spends Sunday mornings attending mass at his local Wilmington, Delaware church, St. Joseph on the Brandywine Roman Catholic. After mass, the Bidens will meet with families of victims and survivors at the Uvalde County Event Center 'to grieve and offer their condolences,' according to the White House. They'll end the day-long visit by speaking with Uvalde first responders. Much of the event after the first couple's memorial visit will be closed to press, apparently in a bid to offer privacy to those directly involved and still grappling with the fallout of the tragedy. The White House announced on Thursday that the Bidens would both be visiting Uvalde five days after the shooting. A visibly emotional Biden grieved for 'so many lost spirits' in a short but powerful speech from the White House on Tuesday night. Early last week, an 18-year-old gunman killed 19 kids and two teachers inside a classroom in Uvalde He also tore into gun manufacturers and firearm lobbyists for the conditions including relatively relaxed gun laws that allowed the teen shooter to commit the heinous crime. The president had been on a 17-hour flight back from his first trip to Asia as commander-in-chief when the shooting occurred. Biden addressed the nation less than two hours after his return. 'I had hoped, when I became president, I would not have to do this. Again. Another massacre,' he said. 'Uvalde, Texas. An elementary school. Beautiful innocent, second, third, fourth graders. And how many scores of little children who witnessed what happen - see their friends die as if they're on a battlefield, for God's sake?' His voice growing louder later in the speech, Biden continued: 'As a nation, we have to ask, when in God's name are we going to stand up to the gun lobby? When in God's name will we do what we all know in our gut needs to be done?' He recalled the numerous mass shootings over the last decade, including visiting Sandy Hook Elementary School, where a gunman killed 26 people including 20 children while he was vice president. He also remarked on the this month's mass shooting that killed 10 people in Buffalo, New York. Biden delivered the remarks in the White House Roosevelt Room with a silent and solemn First Lady Dr. Jill Biden by his side 'I am sick and tired of it. We have to act. And don't tell me we can't have an impact on this carnage. I spent my career as a senator and vice president working to pass common sense gun laws,' he said. Biden pointed out that no other developed nation has the rate of gun violence the US experiences. 'Why? They have mental health problems. They have domestic disputes in other countries. They have people who are lost. But these kinds of mass shootings never happen with the kind of frequency that they happen in America. Why?' he pressed. 'Why are we willing to live with this carnage? Why do we keep letting this happen? Where in God's name is our backbone?' All rights reserved for this news site (dailymail) and under his responsibility