DEVASTATING LOSS
Heartbroken mourners arrive at funeral of Texas shooting victim Irma Garcia and husband Joe who ‘died from broken heart’
HEARTBROKEN mourners arrived at the funeral of Texas school shooting victim Irma Garcia and her husband Joe, who died two days later from a suspected heart attack.
Photos from the funeral service at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Uvalde, , on Wednesday, show a row of mourners paying their respects to the high school sweethearts as their caskets are led into the Mass.
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Teachers Irma and Eva Mireles were among 21 people killed during the May 24 massacre at Robb Elementary school after teen gunman Salvador Ramos barricaded himself inside their fourth-grade classroom and opened fire.
Nineteen students perished in the shooting. An additional 17 were injured.
Joe died two days after the tragic event from a suspected heart attack, the pair's nephew announced.
"EXTREMELY heartbreaking and come with deep sorrow to say that my Tia Irma’s husband Joe Garcia has passed away due to grief," John Martinez shared.
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"I truly am at a loss for words for how we are all feeling, PLEASE PRAY FOR OUR FAMILY, God have mercy on us, this isn’t easy."
Martinez told the that Joe had visited his wife’s memorial the morning of May 26 to drop off flowers, and when he got back home, he “pretty much just fell over."
In a shared online by the duos family, cousin Debra Garcia Austin wrote that Joe passed away on Thursday morning “as a result of a medical emergency.”
“I truly believe Joe died of a broken heart and losing the love of his life of more than 30 years was too much to bear,” Austin wrote.
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Joe and Irma met in high school and their young relationship “flourished into a love that was beautiful and kind,” according to a joint obituary.
They were married for 24 years and leave behind four children, Cristian, 23, a Marine; Jose, 19, a Texas State University student; Lyliana, 15, a high school sophomore; and Alysandra, 12, a seventh-grader.
"No child should have to go through this, my heart breaks for them," the nephew wrote.
The double loss of the parents has resulted in an outpouring of grief and support for their children.
A GoFundMe organized by Irma’s cousin, Debra Austin, started with a goal of $10,000 but has now raised over $2.7million.
'PUT HER LIFE ON THE LINE'
When the authorities went inside the classroom moments after the shooting, Martinez said they had “found her body there, embracing children in her arms pretty much until her last breath.”
"She had treated her students as if they were her own children, Martinez, 21, told the Times.
The 21-year-old said it had been easy for loved ones to possibly “picture her putting her life on the line.”
Irma was “like a second mom” to her nephews and students, Martinez said. “She brings a joy and a light to the room.”
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VICTIMS NAMED
The 19 children have been identified by loved ones as Amerie Jo Garza, Xavier Lopez, Uziyah Garcia, Makenna Lee Elrod, Ellie Garcia, Eliahana 'Elijah Cruz' Torres, Annabell Guadalupe Rodriguez, Tess Marie Mata, Lexi Rubio, Nevaeh Bravo, Rojelio Torres, Jayce Carmelo Luevanos, Jailah Nicole Silguero, Miranda Mathis, Jose Flores, Maite Yuleana, Jackie Cazares, Alexandria Aniyah Rubio and Alithia Ramirez.
The children were all aged between nine and 11.
Amerie's grandmother Berlinda Irene Arreola told that the gunman reportedly told students that they were going to die.
Amerie was shot dead as she tried to call 911 and her best friend was reportedly left covered in blood.
Arreola said: “She had her phone, and she called 911, and instead of grabbing it and breaking it or taking it from her, he shot her.”
She added Amerie died a hero because she tried to call the emergency services.
Amerie had just received an award for getting on the A-B honor roll.
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The shooting became the worst elementary school massacre since Sandy Hook in 2012.
It surpassed the number of dead in the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting, which left 17 teens dead and 17 others injured on Valentine's Day in 2018.
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