Oklahoma Man Walks Over 160 Miles To Spread Awareness For Uvalde, Texas, Shooting Victims

An Oklahoma man just finished a week long walk across West Texas to spread awareness following the deadly school shooting in Uvalde, Texas. 

Tony Andrews says it was last second trip, but says his goal is to spread awareness towards mental health and the victims of this tragic shooting. 

"The tragedy happened at such short notice," said Andrews. 

It was May 24 when the gunman walked into an elementary school in Uvalde, fatally shooting 19 students and two teachers. Andrews heard the news and was immediately left in shock. 

"You’re not expecting such a tragic incident to take place," Andrews said. "My heart was just broken, and I just felt lost." 

Andrews is from Enid and still lives in northern Oklahoma. Even though he was miles away from the shooting, he started thinking of ways he could help. That's when a friend mentioned visiting the town. 

"That’s how the best ideas for me come about," Andrews said. "They’re just quickly planned, and I looked at him and I said you know what you’re right." 

Andrews decided to start at the state's Capitol in Austin and walk over 160 miles to Uvalde. As a man who's battled with his own mental health struggles, he says he's done walks like this before. 

He walked from Pops in Arcadia, OK to Tulsa to help spread mental health awareness. 

"To me, it brought many people together and it showed me that I’m on the right mission, just like this walk did." 

Andrews says the journey in Texas took him 8 total days documenting his every step and meeting with people along the way. He made it to Uvalde Tuesday afternoon. 

"To let them know that it’s okay to not be okay," Andrews said. "That’s my biggest message and that’s one thing that I want everybody to know." 

Andrews says his journey won't stop here. He plans to take more walks around the country.