The husband of one of the teachers killed in a shooting at a Texas school this week collapsed and died Thursday as he prepared for his wife’s funeral, his family reported.
Joe Garcia had been married to high school sweetheart Irma Garcia for 24 years before being murdered Tuesday at Robb d’Uvalde Elementary School.
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“I do not even know how to feel. I do not believe it. I don’t want to believe that Joe Garcia is dead, Irma Garcia’s nephew John Martinez told NBC News.
Irma Garcia and co-teacher Eva Mireles were killed along with 19 children at a school about 120 km west of Sant Antoni.
His son, Christian Garcia, said a friend of law enforcement who was at the scene saw his mother protecting the students during the crash.
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Martinez said she was told that Joe Garcia “went to deliver flowers to Irma at the memorial for her.”
“When he got home, he was home no more than three minutes after sitting in a chair with the family,” Martinez said.
“He just fell. They tried to compress his chest and nothing worked.
“The ambulance came and they couldn’t, they couldn’t take them back.”
Martinez said he first heard the news from his younger brother.
“He called me and said, ‘Pray for Joe. That’s all he told me,'” Martinez said.
“And I said, ‘What happened?’ And he said, ‘I don’t know. We don’t know yet.
“And then I think he called me, no more than 30 minutes later with him crying and saying he didn’t get it.”
Irma Garcia. Credit: Uvalde CISD
Martinez started on Twitter to announce the death of his uncle.
“Extremely heartbreaking and I come with a deep sorrow to say that my Aunt Irma’s husband, Joe Garcia, has died from the pain,” she said.
“I’m really speechless about how we all feel. Pray for our family. God have mercy on us. That’s not easy.”
“The pain doesn’t stop,” he added minutes later.
Family members confirmed to Fox26 that Garcia died of a heart attack.
In a shared GoFundMe online, cousin Debra Garcia Austin wrote that Joe died “as a result of a medical emergency.”
“I really think Joe died with a broken heart and losing the love of his life for over 30 years was too much to bear,” he wrote.
Shooting in Texas
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