Many were not so lucky. Along with Amerie-Jo, they were named as teacher Eva Mireles, a 44-year-old mother and lifelong pedagogue, and Xavier Lopez, 10, who loved to dance and was never scared in front of the camera.
“He was funny, never serious and his smile,” his mother, Felicha Martinez, told The Washington Post in a broken voice. “That smile I will never forget. I would always encourage anyone. “
Mrs Mireles’ daughter said in a tribute that her mother had “selflessly jumped in front of her pupils to save their lives”.
A second murdered teacher, Imra Garcia, was reportedly “sacrificed” to protect her students from the gunman. “He died as a hero,” said a family member.
Jacob Silguero, 35, was waiting at the civic center for news of his 10-year-old daughter, Jailah, when asked for a DNA sample.
“I thought after the DNA test, it was a bad thing,” he said. “About an hour later, they called to confirm he was dead.”
Other victims were identified as Uziyah Garcia, eight, Makenna Lee Elrod, 10, Eliahana Torres, 10, Ellie Lugo, 10, and Annabell Guadalupe Rodriguez, 10.
The teenage gunman had bought his lethal weapons lair immediately after the age of 18 on May 16th.