'I have to cling on': Teacher who survived Uvalde shooting returns to teaching despite trauma endured
Despite challenges, the decision to return to teaching was not difficult for Mercedes Salas. Former Robb Elementary School teacher Mercedes Salas can still recall the hours leading up to the mass shooting at the school on May 24, 2022, that claimed 21 lives. That morning, Salas was trying to figure out what to wear for the annual awards ceremony at Robb Elementary School.She was about to wear a layered chain set when she suddenly paused to look at her Catholic Virgen de Guadalupe necklace. "My hand was going for the other necklace, but something in my head said, 'No, no, no, no, don't do that, grab your Virgen de Guadalupe necklace,'" she told ABC News. Later that day, when Salas, a fourth grade teacher, heard shots from the 18-year-old gunman who went on to kill 19 students and two teachers, she immediately locked down her classroom, guarded her students and told them to pray. For 44 minutes, she remained on her knees and tightly held on to her Virgen de Guada...