A student who survived the Uvalde shooting and other victims testify about gun violence before the House of Representatives

Girl recounted what she did when shooter was in classroom 0:50 (CNN) — A House committee will hear several testimonies on gun violence at a hearing Wednesday, including the account of a fourth-grade student who survived to the horrific mass shooting last month at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, that shocked the nation. Miah Cerrillo, 11, recently spoke to CNN about her experience and described in chilling detail how she had been afraid the gunman would kill her, so she smeared herself with a friend’s blood to pretend she was dead. . Wednesday’s hearing will provide a high-profile platform for Cerrillo and others directly affected by gun violence to tell their harrowing stories to the American public. It is rare for Congress to hear testimony from someone as young as Cerrillo on a topic as sensitive and disturbing as gun violence. The hearing will also feature testimony from the parents of one of the victims of the Texas elementary school massacre and the mother of a victim of a recent mass shooting at a supermarket in a predominantly black neighborhood in Buffalo, New York. Uvalde professor: No excuse for police delay 2:06 Congressional Democrats have been pushing for action and calling for stricter gun control in the wake of mass shootings. A bipartisan group of senators is in talks to see if they can find common ground on some form of legislation in response to the tragedies, but it remains to be seen what the negotiations will lead to in the highly polarized political climate. Here’s what you need to know about Wednesday’s hearing. What to expect and who are the key witnesses at the gun violence hearing The hearing will begin at 10 am ET and will be convened by the House Oversight and Reform Committee, chaired by Democratic Rep. Carolyn Maloney of New York. House Democrats describe it as a hearing on “the urgent need to address the gun violence epidemic.” According to the commission’s website, key witnesses include Felix and Kimberly Rubio, the parents of Lexi Rubio, a 10-year-old girl who was killed in the school shooting. The witness list also includes Zeneta Everhart, the mother of Zaire Goodman, a victim of the Buffalo supermarket shooting, who was treated and released from the hospital. Among several other witnesses, the panel is expected to hear from Joseph Gramaglia, the Buffalo police commissioner, and Roy Guerrero, a pediatrician from Uvalde. Maestro pretended to be dead and survived Uvalde shooting 0:53 What we know about key witnesses testifying CNN recently spoke with 11-year-old Cerrillo about his experience during the Uvalde shooting. The girl described a time when her teacher backed into the classroom and the attacker followed her. The girl told CNN that he made eye contact with one of her teachers and said, “Good night,” and she shot him. He said that her bullets had flown past her and that fragments of her had hit his shoulders and head. Cerrillo said she was afraid the gunman would return to her classroom to kill her and a few other surviving friends, so she dipped her hands in the blood of a classmate who was lying next to her, already dead, and all the blood was smeared to play dead. Cerrillo’s mother said her daughter is traumatized and she can’t sleep. The girl’s parents started a GoFundMe to pay for her therapy. CNN’s Jason Carroll recently spoke with the parents of Lexi Rubio, who was murdered. Through tears, Felix Rubio said, “All I can hope for is that she’s not a number. Hopefully something will work out. That’s all we’re asking for.” When asked what he would like to see resolved, he said: “Gun violence. Guns.” “This is enough,” he said. “No one else needs to go through this. We never needed to go through this, but we are.” Everhart recently told CNN’s Anderson Cooper about her son: “His recovery from her has been a miracle.” Goodman called Everhart from the supermarket parking lot and told him that she had been shot while she was helping an elderly woman with her shopping cart or groceries. She was shot in the lower neck, her mother said. “The doctor told me it was one of those bullets that breaks when it enters you. It explodes,” she said. “So Zaire has been left with the projectile inside of him because they said that she will probably, eventually, come out of her skin at some point, but it would do more damage to do surgery to remove it, so they don’t want to do it.” What Congress Is Considering Regarding Gun Control A bipartisan group of senators is in talks to see if common ground can be found on gun legislation after the horrific shootings. While Democrats have a majority in the Senate, they only control 50 seats and would need at least 10 Republicans to join them in pushing any kind of gun bill. As a result, only legislation with bipartisan support has any chance of success. However, it will be difficult to pass any kind of measure, given the widespread opposition to gun control by Republicans and how polarized the issue of guns is in Congress. Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, the lead Republican negotiator in the bipartisan talks, recently discussed the broad outlines of what he thinks could be agreed upon in a potential gun law deal. “We’re talking about specific, common-sense reforms that respond to the tragedies in Uvalde and elsewhere, and I think will save lives,” he said, adding: “Strengthen mental health, beef up school safety, keep guns out of hands.” of people who are already legally prohibited from having them. I think many of our colleagues could support those provisions.” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat from New York, provided an update on the timetable for negotiations Tuesday, saying Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut told him he is hopeful there will be a deal for the end of the week. CNN’s Nora Neus, Jason Carroll and Alisha Ebrahimji contributed to this report.