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Who Are The Victims In The Robb Elementary School Shooting In Texas?
Teachers Eva Mirales and Irma Garcia died trying to protect third- and fourth-graders like Amerie Jo Garza, Annabell Guadalupe Rodriguez, Uziyah Garcia, Naveah Bravo and Xavier Javier Lopez. In total, 19 kids were shot by a local 18-year-old man on Tuesday.
Less than two hours after fourth grader Amerie Jo Garza was celebrated for making the honor roll at Robb Elementary in Uvalde, Texas, the 10-year-old was gunned down in her classroom while trying to call 911.
She had been sitting next to her best friend.
“My Grand Daughter was shot and killed for trying to call 911, she died a Hero trying to get help for her and her fellow classmates,” Garza’s grandmother Berlinda Irene Arreola told The Daily Beast in a text message.
Garza was just one of 19 students to be brutally murdered on Tuesday — just two days before summer break — when an 18-year-old gunman burst into the elementary school around 11:30 a.m. and fired at “whatever was in his way.”
Two fourth grade teachers, Eva Mirales and Irma Garcia, were also killed trying to protect the students in the country’s deadliest school shooting since the Sandy Hook Elementary shooting in 2012.
Here’s what we know so far about the victims in this latest tragedy:
Amerie Jo Garza
Garza — who was described by her grandmother as a “super-outgoing” 10-year-old — was seen smiling in a photo around 10 a.m. Tuesday as she proudly held a certificate that she earned for making the school’s honor role.
The image would be the last to capture her alive.
About an hour and a half later, Arreola said the gunman burst into her fourth-grade classroom and allegedly told the students “You’re going to die.”
Garza quickly grabbed her phone and tried to call 911, but the gunman saw what she was doing.
“And instead of grabbing it and breaking it or taking it from her, he shot her,” Arreola told The Daily Beast. “She was sitting right next to her best friend. Her best friend was covered in blood.”
The 10-year-old died instantly but for hours her family was desperately trying to find her for hours.
"I don’t ask for much or hardly even post on here but please It’s been 7 hours and I still haven’t heard anything on my love,” her stepfather Angel Garza wrote in an emotional plea on Facebook alongside a photo of the pair smiling. “Please fb help me find my daughter.”
He updated the post just hours later to share the tragic news.
“Thank you everyone for the prayers and help trying to find my baby. She’s been found. My little love is now flying high with the angels above. Please don’t take a second for granted. Hug your family. Tell them you love them. I love you Amerie jo. Watch over your baby brother for me,” he wrote.
Her family remembered the slain child as someone who doted on her 3-year-old brother and worked hard in school.
“She had a generous heart,” Arreola said. “She was always there to lend anybody a helping hand. She was very quick to be a teacher’s pet.”
Eva Mirales
Eva Mirales was one of two fourth grade teachers to lose her life Tuesday.
Her aunt, Lydia Martinez Delgado, confirmed her death on social media, writing that although the family was “still waiting for all facts” the “one thing that’s certain is that my beautiful niece did not survive this coward's actions.”
Delgado later also confirmed her death to The New York Times, describing the married teacher as someone who had been “very loved” and took pride in teaching students of Latino heritage.
“She was the fun of the party,” she said.
According to Mirales’ profile on the elementary school’s website, she had been teaching for 17 years and was married to an officer who worked in the school district.
She was also the mother of a college graduate daughter.
“I love running, hiking and now you just might see me riding a bike!!,” she wrote.
According to Mirales’ profile on the elementary school’s website, she had been teaching for 17 years and was married to an officer who worked in the school district.
“I love running, hiking and now you just might see me riding a bike!!,” she wrote.
Her daughter, Adalynn posted a note to her slain mother on Twitter Wednesday, along with a photo of the pair.
“My sweet mommy, I will miss you forever,” she captioned the post.
Adalynn wrote that she had “no words” to describe the agonizing loss.
“Mom, you are a hero. I keep telling myself that this isn’t real,” she wrote. “I just want to hear your voice.”
The note goes into heartbreaking detail about what she’ll miss most about her mother, from the early morning wake ups to hugs and singing karaoke together.
“I want everything back,” she said. “I want you to come back to me mom. I miss you more than words can explain.”
While she admitted that she doesn’t “know how to do this life without you,” she promised to try to take care of her father and the family’s dogs.
“I will forever be so proud to be your daughter,” she ended the note. “My sweet mommy, I will see you again.”
Mirales' relative Amber Ybarra described her to KHOU as a wonderful mother and wife.
“She is definitely going to be very missed,” Ybarra said.
Irma Garcia
Irma Garcia had taught alongside Mireles in their fourth-grade classroom.
Her son, Christian Garcia, confirmed her death to KXAS-TV. According to Christian, his friend in law enforcement who had been at the scene of the shooting Tuesday told him that his mother’s body was found in a position indicating that she died protecting her students.
Another son, Jose Garcia, remembered how his mom had hung college pendants throughout her room to inspire her students to dream big.
“They were her lifeblood,” he told The Washington Post. “She loved engaging with children and teaching them. She loved her job and she loved her co-workers.”
Her nephew John Martinez said the family will remember her as a hero.
“They weren’t just her students,” he said. “She lost her life to protect them. That’s the type of person she was.”
According to her profile on the school’s website, Garcia had been teaching at Robb Elementary for 23 years. The married mother of four described loving to BBQ with her husband, listen to music and go on cruises.
Annabell Guadalupe Rodriguez
Annabell Guadalupe Rodriguez was a third grader at the elementary school.
Her family confirmed that the 10-year-old was killed alongside her cousin, Jackie Cazares, who had been in the same classroom, according to People.
“My heart is shattered,” the girls’ aunt, Polly Flores wrote on Facebook. “Today my two beautiful nieces Jackie and Annabell were taken away from us too soon. Love you my baby girls. Till we meet again.”
Jackie Cazares
Jackie Cazares’s father, Javier Cazares, also took to Facebook to remember his 10-year-old daughter.
"My baby girl has been taken away from my family and I," he wrote, according to People. "We're devastated in ways I hope no one ever goes through. Taken out of arms and lives, in this freaking cowardly way, so young, so innocent, full of life and love. It hurts us to our souls."
He adding that he hoped his daughter’s passing would “not be in vain.”
"Something will be done, I promise you. Be in peace with the rest of the angels, sweetheart. Daddy, Mom, Sister, Brother and the whole family are going to miss you forever. Baby girl we all love you with all our hearts. Rest in peace, my Babygirl,” he wrote.
Javier told The Associated Press his daughter had been a “firecracker” who stood up to bullies and “didn’t like kids being picked on.”
“All in all, full of love,” he said. “She had a big heart.”
Uziyah Garcia
The family of Uziyah Garcia confirmed to the Associated Press that the 8-year-old had also lost his life Tuesday.
His grandfather Manny Renfro described him as “the sweetest little boy that I have ever known.”
“I’m not just saying that because he was my grandkid,” he added.
Renfro said he had been teaching his grandson how to play football before he died.
“Such a fast little boy and he could catch a ball so good,” he said. “There were certain plays that I would call that he would remember and he would do exactly like we practiced.”
His aunt and primary guardian Nikki Jackson described the anguish of being told her nephew didn’t survive while waiting outside the Uvalde Civic Center Tuesday to The New York Post.
“They took us to a different room. They started calling us one by one and we gave them Uziah’s description and his picture,” she said. “That’s when they told us that he was one of the victims and he didn’t make it.”
She said he had been one of the students in the classroom where the shooting had taken place.
Naveah Bravo
Naveah Bravo’s cousin posted a desperate plea on Twitter asking for information on the elementary student on Tuesday before learning the tragic news that Bravo had been one of the children killed.
“If anybody has any information about my cousin, Nevaeh Bravo. We cannot find her and are very worried,” she wrote in the message at 6:38 p.m. alongside a smiling photo of her cousin in a bright pink dress, according to The Post.
She later confirmed the death in a follow-up message early Wednesday.
“Unfortunately my beautiful Nevaeh was one of the many victims from today's tragedy. Thank you for the support and help,” she wrote. “Rest in peace my sweet girl, you didn’t deserve this.”
Xavier Javier Lopez
Xavier Javier Lopez had been eagerly awaiting his summer break, during which the 10-year-old had planned to spend his lazy days at the pool. But Lopez never got the change.
His cousin Lisa Garza confirmed his death the Associated Press.
“He was just a loving 10-year-old little boy, just enjoying life, not knowing that this tragedy was going to happen today,” she said. “He was very bubbly, loved to dance with his brothers, his mom. This has just taken a toll on all of us.”
Lopez’ mother had been with him at an awards ceremony honoring his accomplishments in school just hours before the fatal shooting, KSAT reports.
Jailah Nicole Sigulero and Jayce Carmelo Luevanos
Jailah Nicole Sigulero lost her life alongside that of her cousin, Jayce Carmelo Luevanos, according to People.
While Jailah was described by her family as someone who loved dance and TikTok videos, Jayce was remembered as a comedian.
"They were nothing but loving baby angels, always had a smile on their face just full of life," their cousin said in a statement to ABC News. "I can't believe this happened to our angels."
Jailah’s grandmother told The Daily Beast that the 10-year-old had not wanted to go to school Tuesday and wanted to stay home with her mother.
“Jailah didn’t want to go to school yesterday,” her grandmother Linda Gonzales said. “That’s what her momma was really upset about last night: ‘If only I had let her stay home.’”
The cousins had lost their grandfather just the week before the fatal shooting.
“They were just so sweet,” Gonzales remembered. “They were sweet kids and lovable. What can you say about little innocent kids?”
Eliana "Ellie" Garcia
Eliana “Ellie” Garcia had loved “Encanto,” cheerleading and basketball, her grandparents told The Los Angeles Times.
The 9-year-old loved to help her family around the house and wanted to someday become a teacher.
Garcia was the second oldest in a family of five girls and was exceptionally close to her 11-year-old sister Janel, who's still struggling to accept the devastating loss.
“She wants her back,” her grandfather Rogelio Lugo said. “They’re always together.”
Jose Flores
Jose Flores, 10, had happily posed with his honor roll certificate just hours before his death. His uncle Christopher Salazar, who confirmed his death to The Washington Post, posted the image on Facebook, along with others of him fishing and holding a baby.
“I love you and I miss you,” he captioned the images.
Salazar told The Post that his nephew loved to play baseball and was “very smart.”
“He was a very happy little boy,” he said. “He loved both his parents … and loved to laugh and have fun.”
Tess Mata
Tess Mata had dreamed of taking a family vacation to Disney World and had been saving up for the trip, using a jar in her purple bedroom, according to The Washington Post.
Mata, who was also known as Tessy, loved TikTok dance videos, shopping and cheering for her favorite baseball team The Houston Astros. Her favorite player was José Altuve.
“Every time he came up to bat, she would scream and yell for him,” her mother Veronica Mata said, adding that her 10-year-old daughter had always been positive.
Her older sister Faith Mata remembered her sibling on Twitter, posting a photo of Tess standing in front of a large red heart.
"My precious angel you are loved so deeply. In my eyes you are not a victim but a survivor. I love you always and past forever baby sister, may your wings soar higher then you could ever dream," she wrote.
Lexi Rubio
Lexi Rubio’s father Felix Rubio had been one of the deputies with the Uvalde County Sheriff’s Office to respond to the shooting. He’s now hoping for changes to stop gun violence.
"All I can hope is that she's just not a number," he told CNN through tears. "This is enough. No one else needs to go through this. We never needed to go through this, but we are."
Lexi’s parents had been at the school to celebrate her All-A honor roll and a good citizen award just before the shooting.
“We told her we loved her and would pick her up after school,” her mother Kimberly Rubio wrote on Facebook. “We had no idea this was goodbye.”
Her parents described the 10-year-old to CNN as someone who was “kind, sweet, and appreciated life.”
“She was going to be an all-star in softball and had a bright future, whether it’s sports or academic,” they said. “Please let the world know we miss our baby.”
Makenna Lee Elrod
Makenna Lee Elrod made friends wherever she went.
Her aunt Allison McCullough told ABC News that her niece loved gymnastics, softball, animals, singing and dancing.
“She had brothers, sisters, and cousins who she loved to play with. Her smile would light up a room,” McCullough remembered. “Makenna loved to write notes to her family and leave them in hidden places to be found later.”
She called her niece a natural leader who loved school.
“She loved going to the ranch with her dad to feed animals and ride on the ranger,” she said. “She was full of live and will live on in the hearts of all who knew and loved her.”
Her mom is a teacher in the school district.
Alithia Ramirez
Alithia Ramirez, 10, was a talented artist.
Her father, Ryan Ramirez, told KSAT, that the 10-year-old had submitted a drawing to the Doodle for Google contest not long before her death.
Ramirez said his daughter would want her family to “be strong” in the aftermath of the tragedy.
According to her grandmother, Alithia often helped her parents with her siblings, KTRK-TV reports.
Her family waited for hours at the Civic Center before learning she had died just after midnight on Wednesday.
Miranda Mathis
Miranda Mathis, 11, was shot and killed Tuesday. Her cousin Deanna Miller said the family had been searching for her hours after the shooting until they learned the devastating news.
“My sweet baby cousin we loved u dearly I’m so sorry this happen to u baby,” Miller later wrote on Facebook along with a photo of her cousin with angel wings and a halo.
Maite Yuleana Rodriguez
Maite Yuleana Rodriguez, 10, had been celebrating her school success the morning of the shooting and had posed for honor roll photos not long before, according to The Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
Eliahana ‘Elijah’ Cruz Torres
Eliahana ‘Elijah’ Cruz Torres has also been identified as one of the victims.
“Our baby gained her wings,” her aunt Leandra Vera told CNN of the 10-year-old.
Rojelio Torres
The family of Rojelio Torres, 10, has also confirmed that he was one of the victims.
“Our entire family waited almost 12 hours since the shooting to find out Rojelio Torres my 10-year-old nephew, was killed in this tragedy,” his aunt Precious Perez told KSAT. “We are devastated and heartbroken. Rojer was a very intelligent, hard-working and helpful person. He will be missed and never forgotten.”
