Cowboys’ Dak Prescott on Texas school shooting: ‘It makes me fearful to have children’

Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott expressed fear and sadness Wednesday when discussing Tuesday’s school shooting in Texas. 

The shooting, which left at least 19 children and two adults dead, happened at an elementary school in Uvalde, about 380 miles southwest of Cowboys headquarters. 

“Honestly, it makes me fearful to have children, and that’s not right,” Prescott said after practice, via USA Today. “I don’t care if you’re an athlete or not. We’re talking about children. We’re talking about the future. I mean, I don’t have kids and can’t imagine having to send my kid to school with that anxiety.”

Authorities identified the gunman as 18-year-old Salvador Ramos of Uvalde. Law enforcement officials said Ramos acted alone and was killed by a Border Patrol agent who rushed into Robb Elementary School without waiting for backup.

Cowboys defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence said he doesn’t feel safe sending his kids to school anymore. The two-time Pro Bowler said he reached out to his wife after the shooting, asking if their children had returned home safely from school. 

“This is something that’s been happening for weeks … and now it hits an elementary school, and we decide to turn on our TV and act like something is different?” Lawrence added, via the outlet. “I feel like we are sitting back and looking on the outside and saying, ‘It’s not my family, so it has nothing to do with me.’ And, deep down, it hurts.”

Prescott and Lawrence were among the many sports figures to speak out after the shooting, which was the deadliest at a U.S. grade school since a gunman killed 20 children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Connecticut, almost a decade ago. 

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The Cowboys and Houston Texans — the two NFL teams in Texas — released statements offering condolences to the families of the victims. 

“The entire Dallas Cowboys organization grieves alongside the community of Uvalde and all of those affected by today’s tragic event,” the Cowboys’ statement said. “As we mourn the loss of innocent life, our hearts and prayers are with the victims’ families, loved ones, faculty and staff of Robb Elementary.”

Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy, who has a daughter about to finish the fourth grade, became emotional talking about the shooting during a press conference Wednesday. 

“We’ve got to be better,” the coach told reporters. “There has to be a better way. We know there’s a better way. And we need to do the things to make it better. To not protect the future of our community is tragic. It makes me sick like I’m sure it does everybody.”

Fox News’ Stephen Sorace contributed to this report