Update: A spokesperson for Gov. Greg Abbott confirmed to NBC 5 Thursday that the governor would no longer be attending the event on Friday, but will be addressing the convention by taped video.
Just days after the deadliest school shooting in Texas history, Gov. Greg Abbott, along with both of Texas' U.S. senators, John Cornyn and Ted Cruz and U.S. Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas 2nd District), was scheduled to attend the National Rifle Association's annual convention in Houston.
Nineteen children and two teachers were killed after an 18-year-old gunman opened fire at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, on Tuesday.
Get top local stories in DFW delivered to you every morning. Sign up for NBC DFW's News Headlines newsletter.
The shooter was carrying a handgun and possibly a rifle, according to Abbott.
"He shot and killed, horrifically, incomprehensibly, 14 students and killed a teacher," Abbott said, in comments before the death toll rose.
It is unclear if the gunman is among those numbers, although he was confirmed to have been killed by police.
The Uvalde school shooting happened four years after a gunman fatally shot 10 people at Santa Fe High School in the Houston area back in 2018.
School Shootings
NBC 5 reached out to Abbott, Cornyn, Cruz and Crenshaw to find out if each of them is still planning to keep their speaking engagements Friday at the NRA convention, where they are supposed to join former President Donald Trump.
A representative from Cornyn's office replied: "Prior to the tragedy today in Uvalde we had already informed the NRA he would not be able to speak due to an unexpected change in his schedule. He now has to be in D.C. for personal reasons on Friday."
A spokesperson for Crenshaw said he will not be attending the convention because he will be in Ukraine. Like Cornyn, Crenshaw's team said they informed the NRA of the schedule change on Tuesday before the massacre.
When asked about it Wednesday, Abbott said "I am living moment to moment right now, my heart, my head and my body are in Uvalde right now."
So far, we haven't received a response from Cruz.
The NRA released a statement Wednesday offering "deepest sympathies."
Get updates on what's happening in North Texas to your inbox. Sign up for our News Headlines newsletter.
Trump wrote on social media Wednesday that he will keep his "longtime commitment to speak in Texas at the NRA Convention."
According to the NRA's website, Trump will headline a "star-studded cast of political heavyweights" in a "celebration of Second Amendment rights."
"NRA members are excited to hear him speak and thank him for his support for our right to keep and bear arms," said NRA Executive Vice President & CEO Wayne LaPierre.
The 2022 NRA Annual Meetings & Exhibits will take place at the George R. Brown Convention Center from May 27 to May 29.
