DALLAS, Texas — Krystal Pena stood in front of a mural in Uvalde Thursday night dedicated to the children who were senselessly killed inside their Robb Elementary school classrooms on May 24.
The mass shooting has rocked Texas, the nation, and any parent like Pena who was visiting the mural from San Antonio to pay her respects.
But a different piece of artwork--changed her mood when WFAA showed it to her: new billboards in California using the shooting as a selling point not to move to Texas.
"That's so disrespectful for the families," Pena said. "Somebody always has something stupid to say."
The billboards have been seen in Los Angeles and San Francisco.
They say 'Don't Move to Texas': a play on the state's famous anti-littering campaign 'Don't Mess With Texas.'
The latter phrase can be seen on the billboard but crossed out.
Alongside it: 'The Texas Miracle Died in Uvalde.'
'The Texas Miracle' is a phrase coined by state leaders after Texas weathered an economic storm during the 'Great Recession' from 2007-2009.
It even added jobs during that timeframe. In the years following--it's been a staple for growing the state's economy and a bragging point to political rivals in California.
That's an attractive selling point for someone wanting to move.
Another bragging point? If you look at the decade from 2010 through 2019 (the last year that Census data is available), it shows a net number of 885,000 people moving to Texas -- about 303,000 of which were from California.
That means 34% of new Texas residents are migrating from California.
In the pandemic--a similar story unfurled as the state's economy rebounded quicker than others.
Any republican would say the 'Texas Miracle' was built on low taxes, light regulations, and small-government philosophy.
The billboard? SMU Political Professor Matthew Wilson says the message is that Texas has a gun violence problem.
"There are frequent jabs between both states, and there is no love lost," Wilson said. "The numbers don't lie in terms of where people are moving, and people are voting with their feet. But the billboard says that Texas isn't what it's cracked up to be and that it's a dangerous place."
"Every year, there are a lot more Californians moving to Texas than Texans are moving to California, and that has been a source of some sensitivity among Californians," Wilson continued.
On average, according to U.S. Census Data, 68,700 Californians moved to Texas every year from 2009 to 2019.
That's small, though, considering the Californian state population is more than 39 million, less than 1%.
Still, the billboard falls flat if you ask the CEO of the Miller Ad Agency, Erik Radle.
The business is based in Dallas and was founded in 1984.
"If you have to mention the competition, you've already lost the game in advertising," Radle said. "All this has done is given attention to Texas."
As far as the message goes? Radle says it's distasteful.
"It's a bridge too far, and I think it's left-handed to try to equate a move to Texas with violence. Every populous state has these issues," Radle said.
"And the timing is always poor if you're referencing the pain of others to drive home your message--that's a bad idea in advertising."
It's still not clear who or what entity is behind the billboard. FoxPoint Media leased the space and didn't return requests for comment on Thursday.
Wilson said you couldn't rule out if someone from Texas was behind the billboard too.
"There's a little ambiguity and mystery associated with this," Wilson said. "We don't know if people from California put up this billboard or if it is someone from Texas. Or if any political affiliation is associated," Wilson said.
"It certainly has gotten a lot of people's attention."