They were about ten years old, were sports or music fans and had dreams in their heads. But on Tuesday, the bright future that these little Americans were supposed to have turned into tragedy. Armed with an assault rifle, 18-year-old Salvador Ramos entered the elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, and fired at random at anyone who crossed his path. A total of 21 people were killed. Nineteen children and two teachers. Since the tragedy, the families of the victims have displayed their faces online and in the press, to pay tribute to them. “My little girl was stolen from me. We are devastated. We are wounded in our souls,” wrote the father of little Jackie Cazares, 10, a child “full of life and love”.
Makenna Lee Elrod was also in the classroom at the time of the shooting. “She had the biggest heart and adored her family and friends,” her aunt shared on a fundraising page opened in her honor. “His smile lit up a room.” As for Amerie Jo Garza, also 10 years old, she “adored her little brother of three years”. “She kissed him every day before going to school,” her grandmother commented to “People”. According to the latter, the little girl is one of the first to have been killed while trying to call for help to save her comrades. “He could have just taken his phone. He could have just broken it. But he shot him.”
Rojelio, Xavier, Elijah, Uziyah… all lost their lives on Tuesday alongside two of their two teachers. Eva Mireles, 44, had worked at the establishment for 17 years. “Sweet mom, you will be missed forever,” her daughter wrote on Twitter on Wednesday. “I want to thank you, Mom, for being an inspiration. I will always be proud to be your daughter”. Eva Mireles shared her class with Irma Garcia, also deceased. “My 27-year-old son had her as a teacher, he adored her like everyone else, she had an extraordinary gift for motivating her students. My youngest son would probably have had it too: he was supposed to join this school next year but now he no longer wants…”, commented to Paris Match a resident of the city, whose niece was injured in the killing.