Richardson couple turns yard into art installation honoring recent mass shooting victims
RICHARDSON, Texas (CBSDFW.COM) - A Richardson couple is turning their sadness and anger over recent mass shootings into art. They're using their front yard to honor those who lost their lives in both Uvalde and Buffalo and are hoping their installation ultimately inspires conversation and change.
"I wanted to create a nuance way to create a conversation and so for me, what that looked like was to create something that would cause that discussion," Brandon O'Neill said.
O'Neill and his wife, Heather, purchased 21 backpacks and 10 shopping bags to represent the victims in both the Uvalde and Buffalo tragedies. They placed them in their front yard in the 300 block of Northview Drive and are calling the art installation "31 Bags for Change."
"I bought 19 maroon backpacks and the reason why I chose maroon is that was the school colors for Uvalde," Brandon said. "Then we got two pink bags here to represent the teachers. I think a lot of us say we would give our lives for our children, these two ladies actually did that."
He said they purposely left the victims' names off the backpacks and shopping bags to make this more relatable, showing this can happen in any city.
"We've had a lot of people come by and just try and talk about it," Brandon said. "I have had a chance to speak with left-leaning people, right-leaning people.. and regardless, I think everyone looks at this as a situation we can solve."
"We have to finally have enough and keep the conversation going until we get the change," Heather said.
"This is solvable," Brandon said. "I'm hopeful. I really am hopeful."