'When he died I died with him' -Texas families grieve
STORY: Tuesday morning Texas fourth-grader Alexandria Aniyah Rubio earned a spot on Robb Elementary School's honor roll. She was joined by her parents for an assembly and a photo.
It was her last day. It was the last day of life for Ellie Garcia, Tess Mata, Xavier Lopez, Rojelio Torres, Jailah Silguero, Jayce Carmelo Luevanos, Eliahana Cruz Torres, Jose Flores, Makenna Lee Elrod, Uziyah Garcia and eight other children.
Nineteen students gone. In their place, rows of white crosses.
Hours after Tuesday's assembly, a teenage gunman burst into their classroom in Uvalde, firing on the children and two teachers in the deadliest U.S. school shooting in nearly a decade.
A justice of the peace who helped at the scene told Reuters some small bodies were too damaged by bullets to be immediately identified.
Jose Flores' grandfather said he rushed to the civic center to wait with other families for the children.
"So buses started getting there. And no Jose. //When he died I died with him."
Jacklyn Cazares' father said he waited for news for hours before learning his 10-year old daughter was dead.
"She was full of love and full of life. She would do anything for anybody. And to me, she's a little firecracker, man. It comforts me a little bit to think she would be the one to help her friends in need."
For Irma Garcia and Eva Mireles, teaching fourth graders in Uvalde, Texas, was one of the joys of their lives, a vocation dedicated to educating children and keeping them out of harm's way. They died with their students.
On Thursday, mourners left flowers in front of the school, as devastated families were left with only questions.
FLORES: "Why do you hand a gun to this guy and he goes and shoots a little kid? It's happened too many times. And now it Happens to us. It has to stop."
REUTERS / ELLIE GARCIA'S FAMILY / ALEXANDRIA ANIYAH RUBIO'S FAMILY / TESS MATA'S FAMILY / XAVIER LOPEZ' FAMILY / ROJELIO TORRES' FAMILY / JAILAH SILGUERO'S FAMILY / JAYCE CARMELO LUEVANOS' FAMILY / JOSE FLORES' FAMILY / MAKENNA LEE ELROD'S FAMILY / UZIYAH GARCIA'S FAMILY
