Meghan Markle receives support from Uvalde victim's father after 'PR stunt' backlash

Meghan Markle, who was accused of using 2022 Uvalde School tragedy as a PR stunt by commentators and her half-brother Thomas Markle Jr, has been defended by a victim's father.

The father of a victim, who died in the Robb Elementary School shooting in Texas, has spoken out against claims the Duchess of Sussex brought a media crew to the town in the aftermath of the heinous attack.

Prince Harry's wife received backlash after her photographs - showing her lying flowers at a memorial in the town after a "mass shooting" that occurred last year in May - went viral.

At the time, a spokesperson for the former Hollywood actor told Newsweek that the Duchess made her visit to Uvalde in a personal capacity "as a mother," seeking only to offer her support to the community that is experiencing "unimaginable grief."

However, social media users reacted differently to Meghan's move, alleging the mother-of-two of "taking her cameras to a literal crime scene".

Brett Cross, father of Uziyah "Uzi" Garcia - who was killed in the shooting - voiced in in defense of Meghan, writing on X/Twitter: "You're so far from the truth," he wrote in his X post on December 22.

 "She arrived without media, and did tell them to leave that she wasn't there for them. She has also kept in contact with my wife."

He went on to claim that while Meghan didn't bring media with her to visit the town after the shooting, both Texas Governor Greg Abbot and movie star Matthew McConaughey did.

Cross also told Newsweek that he was "tired of people talking about Uvalde in ways that are not factual."

The Robb Elementary School shooting took place on May 24, 2022, in Uvalde, Texas, United States, when 18-year-old former student Salvador Ramos fatally shot 19 students and two teachers, while 17 others were injured but survived.