What we know about the Uvalde, Texas, shooting victims

One scholar was an avid runner, so quick she swept the races at subject day. One other was studying soccer performs from his grandfather. One woman sensed one thing was improper and needed to skip faculty.
On Wednesday, tales started to emerge concerning the lives of the 19 fourth-graders — “treasured people” in line with the varsity district superintendent — and their two lecturers who have been gunned down behind a barricaded door at Robb Elementary College within the southwestern Texas city of Uvalde.
All of those that died have been in the identical fourth-grade classroom, the place the shooter barricaded himself and opened hearth on the kids and lecturers, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott advised a information convention Wednesday.
College district Superintendent Hal Harrell fought again tears as he spoke of the kids and their lecturers.
“You may simply inform by their angelic smiles that they have been liked,” Harrell stated of the kids. “That they liked coming to high school, that they have been simply treasured people.”
The 2 lecturers “poured their coronary heart and soul” into their work, he stated.

Among the many college students killed was 10-year-old Eliahna Garcia, whose family members discovered late Tuesday that she was amongst these killed, stated her aunt, Siria Arizmendi.
“She was very joyful and really outgoing,” stated Arizmendi, a fifth-grade instructor at Flores Elementary College in the identical faculty district.
“She liked to bop and play sports activities. She was huge into household, loved being with the household.”

Alexandria Aniyah Rubio, a fourth grader at Robb Elementary, was beaming with pleasure on Tuesday in a household picture posted on Fb by her mom exhibiting the woman holding an “A” Honor Roll certificates she earned for wonderful faculty grades.
Hours after the picture was taken, a gunman burst into Alexandria’s classroom and killed her, 18 different kids and two lecturers within the deadliest U.S. faculty capturing in practically a decade.
“We advised her we liked her and would choose her up after faculty,” stated Alexandria’s mom Kimberly Mata-Rubio within the Fb publish. “We had no thought this was goodbye.”

Vincent Salazar’s 10-year-old daughter, Layla, was amongst these killed. She liked to swim and dance to movies on TikTok, her father stated. An avid runner, she gained six races on the faculty’s subject day, and Salazar proudly posted a photograph of Layla exhibiting off two of her ribbons on Fb.
Every morning as he drove her to high school in his pickup, Salazar would play Candy Youngster O’ Mine, by Weapons N’ Roses they usually’d sing alongside, he stated. She was enthusiastic about seeing the brand new Marvel film, Thor: Love and Thunder.
“She was only a entire lot of enjoyable,” he stated.
‘The sweetest little boy’
Manny Renfro stated he received phrase Tuesday that his grandson, eight-year-old Uziyah Garcia, was amongst these killed.
“The sweetest little boy that I’ve ever identified,” Renfro stated. “I am not simply saying that as a result of he was my grandkid.”
Renfro stated Uziyah final visited him in San Angelo throughout spring break.
“We began throwing the soccer collectively and I used to be educating him move patterns. Such a quick little boy and he might catch a ball so good,” he stated. “There have been sure performs that I might name that he would keep in mind and he would do it precisely like we practised.”

Lisa Garza, 54, of Arlington, Texas, mourned the dying of her 10-year-old cousin, Xavier Javier Lopez, who had been eagerly awaiting a summer time of swimming.
“He was only a loving … little boy, simply having fun with life, not figuring out that this tragedy was going to occur,” she stated. “He was very bubbly, liked to bop along with his brothers, his mother. This has simply taken a toll on all of us.”
She additionally lamented what she described as lax gun legal guidelines.
“We must always have extra restrictions, particularly if these youngsters usually are not of their proper way of thinking and all they wish to do is simply damage folks, particularly harmless kids going to the faculties,” Garza stated.
Arizmendi additionally spoke angrily, by way of tears, about how the shooter managed to get a gun.
“It is simply obscure or to place into phrases,” she stated. “I simply do not understand how folks can promote that kind of a gun to a child 18 years outdated. What’s he going to make use of it for however for that objective?”

‘I miss you a lot’
When considering again on her deceased sister Tess Mata, Religion Mata stated she largely remembers the enjoyable instances that they had collectively.
“Sissy I miss you a lot,” Religion wrote on Fb.
“I simply wish to maintain you and inform you how fairly you’re, I wish to take you exterior and observe softball, I wish to go on one final household trip, I wish to hear your contagious chuckle, and I need you to listen to me inform you how a lot I really like you.”

‘Our hype woman’
In one other social media publish, Steven Garcia paid unhappy tribute to his misplaced daughter: “Our Ellie was a doll and was the happiest ever. I used to be gonna DJ for her at her occasion like she needed me too!!!”
Uvalde resident Erica Mena additionally mourned Ellie, who performed on a neighborhood youth basketball group. She shared a collection of images on Fb of the group throughout video games and holding trophies.
“Ellie was our hype woman and the guts of the group , she by no means missed a observe and was the loudest when it got here to cheering for her group!” Mena wrote on Fb.

Lecturers have been moms, too
Slain fourth-grade instructor Eva Mireles, 44, was remembered as a loving mom and spouse. “She was adventurous. … She is unquestionably going to be very missed,” stated her 34-year-old relative Amber Ybarra, of San Antonio.
As Ybarra ready to present blood for the wounded, she questioned how nobody observed bother with the shooter in time to cease him.
“To me, it is extra about elevating psychological well being consciousness,” stated Ybarra, a wellness coach who attended Robb Elementary herself. “Somebody might presumably have seen a dramatic change earlier than one thing like this occurred.”
In a publish on the varsity’s web site initially of the varsity 12 months, Mireles had launched herself to her new college students.
“Welcome to the 4th grade! We’ve got a beautiful 12 months forward of us!” she wrote, noting she had been educating for 17 years, liked working and climbing, and had a “supportive, enjoyable, and loving household.” She talked about that her husband was a college district police officer, and that that they had a grown daughter and three “furry pals.”
The opposite slain instructor, Irma Garcia, wrote about her 4 kids, together with one who was within the Marines, in a letter introducing herself to the category. Garcia’s 21-year-old nephew, John Martinez, advised the Detroit Free Press the household was struggling to know that whereas Garcia’s son had skilled for fight, it was his mom who was shot to dying.
Even for the survivors, there was grief.
Lorena Auguste was substitute educating at Uvalde Excessive College when she heard concerning the capturing. She started frantically texting her niece, a fourth-grader at Robb Elementary, till Auguste heard from her sister that the kid was OK.
Auguste stated her niece requested her that evening, “Tia, why did they do that to us? We’re good youngsters, we did not do something improper.”
Hillcrest Memorial Funeral Dwelling, which is situated throughout the road from Robb Elementary College, stated in a Fb publish that it will be helping households of the capturing victims with no value for funerals.