Alexandria Aniyah Rubio, a 10-year-old girl known as Lexi, was an honorary student at Robb Elementary School who loved TikTok, dreamed of becoming a lawyer, and was “the student all teachers want,” she said. his mother, Kimberly Rubio.
On Tuesday morning, Lexi, a fourth-grader, had just received a good citizenship award and an honorary award for winning all the A’s. Later that day, all the joy of her family was taken away. said Mrs. Rubio. Lexi was among the 21 people killed (19 students and two teachers) at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, in the deadliest shooting at a school in the country in a decade.
Alexandria Aniyah RubioCredit …
“We were talking about women’s rights, and she was an emerging feminist,” said 33-year-old Rubio, her voice broken at times.
Lexi’s parents said they had waited until the last minute to name her, deciding something that would stand out when they were called to high school.
“It was my baby,” Mrs. Rubio said. “I don’t want anyone else to go through this.”
‘The heart of our life’
Layla Salazar was an energetic girl who had just won three top ties for athletics at school and was already planning summer pajamas with her friends at her grandparents ’house, said her grandfather Vincent Salazar .
“My granddaughter was a person who loved everything in life, and they took her out,” Mr. Salazar in an interview in front of his house in Uvalde on Thursday. “They took her away from us. How do we fix a broken heart from a family as close as ours?”
Layla SalazarCredits …
Relatives from across the country have come to Uvalde to be with the family while they suffer, said Mr. Salazar, filling the house after the loss of a girl whose absence could not be felt more strongly.
“Layla, for our family, was the heart of our lives.”
When a reporter asked him his name, Mr. Salazar paused.
“I was my grandfather, I was Layla Salazar’s grandfather. That’s what he told me, he was my grandfather.”
‘A joy and a light’
Irma Garcia, a teacher for more than two decades, was known as a firm optimist in her family. He attended meetings in Uvalde, Texas, sang his favorite classical rock songs during the holidays, and helped his nephew, John Martinez, with homework.
“She’s always been optimistic about everything, and she’s been very loving with the people in her life,” Mr. Martinez, 21, a student at Texas State University.
On Tuesday, he and his family had gathered to process the news of the authorities: Mrs. Garcia had been murdered at Robb d’Uvalde Primary School.
Irma GarciaCredit …
When authorities entered the classroom moments after the shooting, Mr. Martinez, had “found his body there, hugging the children in his arms almost to his last breath.”
She had treated her students as if they were her own children, she said, so it had been easy for her loved ones to possibly “imagine her putting her life in danger.”
Mrs. Garcia — or Aunt Garcia, as Mr. Martinez referred to her aunt in Spanish — was “like a second mother” to her nephews and students, she said.
“She brings joy and light to the room.”
Her 24-year-old husband, Garcia Garcia, died two days after a heart attack. He had gone to his memorial Thursday morning to leave flowers, broken by the pain of losing the love of his life, Mr. Martinez.
“They just want to go back to their sister”
Jailah Silguero, 10, was the youngest of four children, her family’s “baby,” her father said. He loved going to school and seeing his friends. Jailah had told her father, Jacob Silguero, 35, on Monday night that she wanted to stay home on Tuesday. He was not very characteristic of her, and in the morning, said Mr. Silguero, he seemed to have forgotten. He got dressed and went to school as usual.
“I can’t believe it happened to my daughter, my baby,” she said.
He added: “It has always been my fear of losing a child.”
Jailah SilgueroCredit …
Mr. Silguero and his family were preparing to go to a funeral home on Wednesday after spending hours at SSGT’s Willie de Leon Civic Center the day before waiting for information about Jailah. Officials asked the family to give a DNA sample with a swab.
“I thought after the DNA test, it was a bad thing,” he said. “About an hour later, they called to confirm he was dead.”
Jailah’s brothers are taking it a lot, Mr. Silguero said, “They just want her to go back to her sister.”
Jailah Silguero was among the 21 people, 19 children and two adults, killed in Tuesday’s massacre.
Two cousins in a class
Jackie Cazares and Annabelle Rodríguez were cousins in the same classroom at Robb Elementary School. Jackie, who had her first communion two weeks ago, was the socialite, said Polly Flores, who was Jackie’s aunt and Annabelle’s great-aunt. “She was outgoing; she always had to be the center of attention, ”said Ms. Flowers. “She was my little diva.”
Jackie CazaresCredit …
Annabelle, an honorary student, was calmer. But she and her cousin were so close that Annabelle’s twin sister, who was home schooled, “was always jealous,” Ms. Flowers. “We are a very close-knit family,” he said. “It’s just devastating.”
A girl who loved her friends
Amerie Jo Garza was a nice 10-year-old girl who loved Play-Doh.
Amerie Jo was “full of life, a prankster, always smiling,” her father, Alfred Garza III, said in a brief telephone interview. He didn’t talk much about school, but he enjoyed spending time with his friends at lunch, in the yard, and during recess. “He was very sociable,” he said. “She talked to everyone.”
Amerie Jo’s extended family had gathered in the room when the Texas Rangers broke the horrible news on Tuesday afternoon.
The loss of the family occurred after losing several loved ones due to Covid-19 for the past two years.
Amerie Jo GarzaCredit …
“We finally had a break, no one was dying,” Mr. Garza. “Then that happened.”
Mr. Garza, who works at a used car dealership in Uvalde, said he was taking a break for lunch when Amerie Jo’s mother told him she couldn’t get her daughter out of school because she was locked up.
“I went straight there and found chaos,” he said. He recalled seeing cars back on the streets, with parents trying to get into the school to find their children. Police cars were everywhere.
At first, he said, he didn’t think anyone had been hurt. Then he heard that children had died. For hours, he waited for news of his daughter.
“I was in a bit of a shock,” he said, after listening to the Texas Rangers. When he got home, he started reviewing his photos. “That’s when I had the release,” he said. “I started crying and I started crying.”
“She Gathered the Neighborhood”
Eva Mireles, 40, loved teaching Robb elementary school children the last of a fourth grade. Neighbors described her as a kind person who usually smiles.
“She brought the neighborhood together,” said Javier Garcia, 18, who lived next door. “She loved those kids.”
Eva MirelesCredit …
A married cousin, Joe Costilla, 40, who lives on the island, said Mrs. Mireles enjoyed running marathons outside of work and was very athletic. “We were always together, at the barbecues, she was a wonderful person,” she said, holding back tears. They were scheduled to meet during Memorial Day weekend.
Mr.’s mother Costilla, Esperanza, rushed to her house to comfort her 14- and 10-year-old grandchildren, who knew her well.
“They’re taking it very hard,” he said. “She was the kind of teacher everyone loved.”
Audrey Garcia, 48, the mother of a daughter with Down syndrome named Gabby, recalled Ms. Mireles as a transforming teacher in her son’s life.
Gabby is 23 years old and has a high school diploma. Mrs. Mireles had been his third grade teacher. Just a couple of years ago, Ms. Garcia said, schools in the Uvalde area had begun to integrate children with mental disabilities into regular classrooms.
“It was new for teachers in this area,” Ms. Garcia. Mrs. Mireles, she said, set to work. “He used every teaching method he knew to help Gabby reach her full potential,” he said. “He never saw that potential as less than that of anyone else in his classroom.”
‘Hard type’
Jose Flores, 10, wore a pink T-shirt that said, “Hard guys wear pink.” His grandfather George Rodriguez called him “my little Josesito” and kept a photograph of the boy in his wallet.
Mr. Rodriguez, who also lost a niece in Tuesday’s shooting, attended counseling at the Ubalde Civic Center, but said he had offered her little respite from the pain. “They were beautiful, innocent children,” he said.
José Flores Credit …
In the honor roll
Xavier López, 10, made the list of honors the day he was killed. He was eager to go home and share the news with his three siblings, but his grandparents said that Xavier decided to stay in school to see a movie and eat popcorn with his classmates.
They remembered Xavier as a lush baseball and football player who had a girlfriend at school with whom he talked on the phone.
Xavier LopezCredit …
Leonard Sandoval, 54, Xavier’s grandfather, was left in front of the family home on Wednesday trying to make sense of the incomprehensible. “Because?” he asked. “Why him? Why children? “
“A special and special boy”
Manny Renfro said his 9-year-old grandson, Uziyah Garcia, was a “special and special child” who loved video games, football and brought joy to his family.
“I’m sad,” he said in a brief telephone interview. “I do not sleep. I don’t eat. “
Uziyah GarciaCredit … Manny Renfro, via Associated Press
When authorities on Tuesday notified his family that Uziyah was among the victims, his mother “cried and cried” and the family was “hysterical.”