‘We can, must do better’: Matthew McConaughey leads celeb reactions to Texas shooting

American actor Matthew McConaughey has urged Americans to “rearrange our values” and find “common ground” after a mass shooting at a Texas, US, school on Tuesday morning.

A teenage gunman murdered at least 19 children and two teachers after storming into Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas on Tuesday, the latest bout of gun-fuelled mass killing in the US and the nation's worst school shooting in nearly a decade. The carnage began with the 18-year-old suspect, identified as Salvador Ramos, shooting his grandmother, who survived, authorities said.

He then launched a bloody rampage at the primary school that ended when he was killed, apparently shot by police.

The motive was not immediately clear.

Shocked public figures have since spoken out on the shocking incident, taking to social media to share their sadness and outrage. Among these were celebrities such as McConaughy, whose hometown is Uvalde, who said that the mass shooting has “tragically proven that we are failing to be responsible for the rights our freedoms grant us”.

“The true call to action now is for every American to take a longer and deeper look in the mirror and ask ourselves, 'What is it that we truly value? How do we repair the problem? What small sacrifices can we individually take today to preserve a healthier and safer nation, state and neighbourhood tomorrow?'

“We cannot exhale once again, make excuses and accept these tragic realities as the status quo. As Americans, Texans, mothers and fathers, it's time we re-evaluate and renegotiate our wants from our needs. We need to rearrange our values and find a common ground above this devastating American reality that has tragically become our children's issue.”

The award-winning actor went on to say every American “can do better” and “must do better” and that “action must be taken so that no parent has to experience what the parents in Uvalde and others before them have endured”.

Adding to this were Taylor Swift, rapper Offset and basketball star LeBron James who all expressed their shock and sadness over the murders and asked when “enough is enough”.