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The teen daughter of one of the teachers killed in the Texas school shooting in Uvalde last week has penned an emotional tribute to her parents, vowing to fight for them for the rest of her life.
Fifteen-year-old Lyliana Garcia wrote the letter days after her mother Irma Garcia was shot down by gunman Salvador Ramos last Tuesday. The shooting claimed 21 lives, including 19 children and two teachers.
Garcia’s bereaved husband Jose Antonio succumbed to a cardiac arrest two days after the shooting, which the family has linked to the killing of his partner.
“Your names will not be forgotten,” Lyliana wrote in a message over the weekend at the memorial in the square outside the courthouse in Uvalde, according to a report by The Mirror.
“Dad, I know this was too much for you. Your heart could not take it.”
She added: “I will spend the rest of my life fighting for you and mum. Your names will not be forgotten. Your daughter, Lyliana.”
People grieving the students have left their messages, flowers, cards and rosary beads at the memorial as they paid a tribute to the victims.
A cross bearing Antonio’s name has also been added at the site of the memorial.
Antonio and Garcia, who met in high school and fell in love, were married in 1997 and will be buried at a private ceremony on Wednesday at Uvalde’s Sacred Heart Church.
“Irma Linda Garcia of Uvalde, Texas, was welcomed by our Lord and Saviour while selflessly protecting her angels on May 24, 2022 in Uvalde, Texas, at the age of 48,” a notice shared on the local mortuary’s website read.
It added: “Jose Antonio Garcia joined the love of his life and was also welcomed into the arms of his wife, Irma and our Lord on May 26, 2022.”
The Uvalde shooting has been recorded as the deadliest such attack in the US in nearly a decade.
Both teachers — Garcia and Eva Mireles — attempted to protect the students in the elementary school while Ramos went on a rampage.
He used an AR-15 rifle to kill the fourth grade students. Police officials said that Ramos had purchased the rifle a few days earlier on his 18th birthday.
The teenager dropped out of school and had no criminal record or history of mental illness.
Officials investigating the shooting are still trying to understand the motive behind the massacre.