Tuesday’s massacre, the deadliest shooting of an American school in nearly a decade, took place just days before the end of the school year at Robb Elementary School. What should have been a moment of celebration soon turned into one of pain and agony.
Families gathered at a civic center overnight to find out if their loved ones had survived. Some had the sad task of providing DNA swabs to help investigators determine if family members were among the victims.
Families gathered at a civic center overnight to find out if their loved ones had survived. (AP)
As of Wednesday afternoon (Thursday morning AEST), at least six families said they had received devastating news.
Here’s what friends and family want everyone to remember about the people they lost:
For seven hours, Angel Garza struggled to find his 10-year-old daughter, Amerie Jo. He asked the public for help on Facebook.
“I don’t ask for much or almost or hang here, but please, it’s been seven hours and I still haven’t heard anything about my love,” Garza wrote. “Please help me find my daughter.”
The father of one of the children killed in the school shooting on Tuesday has identified his daughter as Amerie Jo Garza, 10 years old. At least 19 students and 2 adults were killed Tuesday in a mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, about 50 miles west of San Antonio, CNN reported. Angel Garza took to Facebook on Wednesday morning to share that her daughter had been killed in the shooting at her elementary school. (Angel Garza)
On Wednesday morning, Garza gave a heartbreaking update.
“Thank you all for the prayers and help in trying to find my baby. It has been found. My little love is now flying high with the angels above,” Garza posted.
“Please don’t take a second for granted. Hug your family. Tell them you love them. I love you Amerie. Take care of your little brother for me.”
A fourth-grader, Eva Mireles, was also killed at the school, her aunt Lydia Martínez Delgado told CNN.
Mireles had been an educator for 17 years. Erica Torres recalled the care with which Mireles treated her son Stanley, who suffers from autism, while attending his third and fourth grade classes. In an effort to keep her from going to school, Mireles put Stanley in charge of gathering students to go to class.
Fourth-grader Eva Mireles was also killed at school, her aunt Lydia Martínez Delgado told CNN (Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District)
“She made you feel like she was just teaching your son,” Torres said. “As if there were no other students but him. She made you feel so good.”
In her spare time, Mireles enjoyed running, hiking, biking and being with her family, according to her profile on the Uvalde Independent Consolidated School District website.
“I’m furious that these shootings will continue,” her aunt told KSAT. “These kids are innocent. Rifles shouldn’t be readily available to everyone. This is … my hometown, a small community of less than 20,000 people.”
A few hours before he was killed, 10-year-old Xavier Lopez was praised at the Robb Elementary ceremony, his mother, Felicha Martinez, told The Washington Post.
Martinez took a picture of her fourth grader and told her that she was proud of him and that he loved her. That was the last moment she had to share with her “mother’s child.”
Xavier Lopez was 10 years old (Family via Washington Post)
“He was funny, never serious, and his smile …” Felicha Martínez told the Post, her voice broken. “That smile I will never forget. I would always encourage anyone.”
A few days after finishing his last year of primary school, Xavier was counting down for his official transition to the academic level at Flores d’Uvalde High School, his mother told the Post.
“I really couldn’t wait to go to high school,” he said.
Uziyah Garcia’s family, 10, told CNN that his fourth-grader was among those killed at Robb Elementary.
Uziyah was “full of life,” according to an uncle, Mitch Renfro. She loved video games and anything on wheels, and she leaves two sisters behind.
“The sweetest kid I’ve ever met,” Garcia’s grandfather, Manny Renfro, told CNN affiliate KSAT. “I don’t say that just because he was my grandson.” Uziyah Garcia was 10 years old. (Mitch Renfro)
Uziyah last visited his grandfather in San Angelo during his spring break. Renfro remembers playing ball with him and the speed with which his grandson devoted himself to the sport.
“We started throwing football together, and I was teaching him passing patterns. A kid so fast and he could catch a ball so well,” Renfro said. “There were certain plays that I would call that he would remember and that he would do exactly as we practiced.”
Jose Flores Jr., 10, was also among those killed at Robb Elementary, his father Jose Flores Sr. said. on CNN.
Photos of Robb Elementary School victim Jose Flores Jr., 10 years old (Jose Flores Sr.)
Flores described the fourth grader as an amazing kid and big brother to his two siblings. Jose loved baseball and video games.
“He was always full of energy,” Flores said. “Ready to play until nightfall.”
Felix and Kimberly Rubio had just celebrated their daughter Lexi’s achievements at school before they killed her.
Lexi, who was 10 years old and in fourth grade, had made the All-A honor roll and received a good citizen award, her parents told CNN.
“We told her we loved her and would pick her up after school. We had no idea this was a goodbye,” Kimberly Rubio wrote in a Facebook post. Lexi Rubio had just done the honor roll before being killed in Tuesday’s shooting in Uvalde. , Texas. (Felix and Kimberly Rubio via CNN)
The parents told CNN that they were proud of their daughter.
“He was kind, sweet and appreciated life. He was going to be a softball star and have a bright future, whether he was a sportsman or an academic. Please let the world know that we are missing our baby.”
Community shattered by a sudden tragedy
As the last day of school approached, Robb Elementary students were celebrating with special themed dress days, including Tuesday’s “Footloose and Fancy” theme. Students were encouraged to come dressed in good clothes and show off their fun shoes, according to a post on the school’s Facebook page.
But on Tuesday afternoon, the shaken students were being taken by bus to the converted civic center as a reunion site. As the night wore on, some parents began to learn that their young children had not survived.
The civic center quickly became the epicenter of families looking for their children, and scenes of devastation began to occur as victims were identified. (AP)
“We see people coming out in terror. They’re crying one by one. They’re told their son is dead,” State Sen. Roland Gutierrez told CNN Tuesday night from the site.
When the news of the shooting in Uvalde became known, Robb Elementary’s parents said the students were being taken to the Willie de Leon SSGT Civic Center, according to a post on the school district’s Facebook page. The civic center quickly became the epicenter of families looking for their children, and scenes of devastation began to occur as victims were identified.
Parents were asked to swab DNA to confirm their relationship with their children and were asked to wait an hour to get a response, at least four families told CNN.
a grandmother who had just left San Antonio said she would not stop praying for her 10-year-old granddaughter while waiting for DNA (AP) results
A father, who had just learned that his son was dead, struggled with tears when several of his cousins hugged him. A few meters away, a grandmother who had just been driving from Sant Antoni said she would not stop praying for her 10-year-old granddaughter while they waited for the DNA results.
Inside, city workers handed out pizza, snacks and water to families. Some parents waited in silence, while others wept silently as a group of children sat on the floor playing with teddy bears. A group of local pastors and chaplains arrived and offered their support to the families.
On Tuesday night (Wednesday evening AEST), some families had not yet reunited with their children and had no news, said Gutierrez, who represents Uvalde.
“We have people who have not yet identified their children,” he told CNN Tuesday night. “Right now, they’re still making a DNA match.”
The Ubalde Civic Center has counseling and support for available students, the district said (CNN)
The school district canceled the rest of its school year, which was due to end Thursday, in response to the shooting, Superintendent Hal Harrell said. The district said there is advice and support for students at the Ubalde Civic Center.
“It’s a small town,” said Lalo Diaz, a county justice of the peace. It’s the kind of place where everyone knows each other, Diaz said, noting that he knows the families of several victims.
In his civic role, Diaz coordinates the processing of the deceased. So far, he has only dealt with four people killed in a car accident at a time, he said.
“When I have to sign 21 death certificates,” Diaz said, “my heart will drop.”