Tess Marie Mata—one of the 21 victims killed in the Robb Elementary School mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas last week—had dreams of going viral on TikTok someday. Now her family is asking the platform's users to help make that dream become a reality.
Tess loved TikTok watching and making videos, according to her family, but at 10-years-old she was too young to create an account on the platform—it requires users to be at least 13 years of age. However, Tess' uncle Robert Hill told CNN that she'd saved more than 150 video drafts to her mother Veronica Mata's TikTok account.
After Tess' death last week, Veronica Mata posted a video on the platform of her daughter doing a dance routine to Don Toliver's "No Idea," a track popularly used in TikTok challenges. The video was captioned: "My sweet baby girl. She was taken from us because of a senseless act in a mass shooting. I never allowed Tess to post her videos because she was so young. But today I want to celebrate her by trying to fulfill her wish by becoming TikTok famous. #uvaldestrong."
@veronicamata07 My sweet baby girl. She was taken from us because of a senseless act in a mass shooting. I never allowed Tess to post her videos because she was so young. But today I want to celebrate her by trying to fulfill her wish by becoming TikTok famous. #uvaldestrong ♬ original sound - Veronica Mata
Hill also posted the video on his account, adding the caption: "This is Tess Marie Mata, my beautiful niece, one of the ones who was killed in the mass shooting. One of her dreams was to go viral on TikTok. Can we please make this go viral for her?" As of Tuesday, the clip has collected more than 114,000 views, 41,000 likes and 2,600 comments from users.
@robman990
due to a sincenseless act in a mass shooting Tess Marie Mata was taken from us way too soon. Please make this go viral, it was a dream of hers. please like, and share.
♬ original sound - robman990
Lance Bass, member of boy band NSYNC, is among the celebrities who've commented on the video. On Saturday, Bass wrote that the child's death "breaks my heart." Hill thanked Bass and commented that Tess was a big fan of his band's No. 1 hit "Bye Bye Bye." Influencer Paris Hilton also commented on Hill's TikTok, writing: "So sorry for your loss... Sending lots of love to you and your family."
Tess' video was also shared by Kourtney Kardashian and Kylie Jenner, Hill told CNN. "It's hard to still wrap my head around this," he said. "I wish she was around to see this." Hill said he's hoping the video will eventually reach one of Tess' favorite bands: BTS.
Following the tragic news of Tess' death, Hill also dedicated a video to his niece featuring various photos of the 10-year-old and a clip of her laughing alongside him, captioned: "We will always love you. RIP. Keep all the families in your thoughts, stay strong. #uvaldestrong."
@robman990 will always love you. 🙏 RIP ♥️keep all the families in your thoughts. stay strong. #uvaldestrong #CapCut ♬ Say My Name - Berre