Foreign

Texas School Shooting: Husband of Killed Teacher ‘Dies of Grief’

By Web News 618

The husband of one of the teachers slain in Tuesday’s mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas, has reportedly died of a heart attack.

Joe Garcia was the husband of Irma Garcia, who taught for 23 years at Robb Elementary School.

Mrs Garcia was one of two teachers killed by a teenage gunman in the shooting that left 21 people dead – including 19 children.

The couple – who were married for 24 years – are survived by four children.

By Thursday night, an online fundraiser for the Garcia family had raised nearly $1.6m (£1.3m) out of an initial modest goal of $10,000.

The GoFundMe page said it was being organised by Mrs Garcia’s cousin, Debra Austin, who wrote: “I truly believe Joe died of a broken heart.”

On Twitter, a nephew of Mrs Garcia, John Martinez, said that Mr Garcia had “passed away due to grief” in the wake of his wife’s murder.

A local Fox affiliate has reported that Mr Garcia died of a fatal heart attack.

The Garcias leave behind four children – two boys and two girls – ranging from 12 to 23 years old.

In the aftermath of the deadly shooting in Uvalde, Mr Martinez told the New York Times that Mrs Garcia was found by officers “embracing children in her arms pretty much until her last breath”.

“She sacrificed herself protecting the kids in her classroom,” he wrote on a fundraising page. “She was a hero”.

Mrs Garcia and the other teacher killed in the shooting, Eva Mireles, had been teaching together for five years and had more than 40 years of experience between them.

BBC/Simeon Ugbodovon

Foreign

Texas Shooting: Police Urged to Enter School during Attack

By Web News 802

Police were urged to charge into a deadly school shooting in Texas by onlookers, witnesses say, with one suggesting he considered doing so himself as he became frustrated.

Texas officials say gunman, Salvador Ramos was inside the school in Uvalde for up to an hour before he was killed.

Nineteen children and two adults died, while 17 others were injured.

Eyewitness Juan Carranza told the Associated Press that women shouted at officers to “go in there”, however the 24-year-old, who witnessed the scene at the Robb Elementary School from outside his house, said police did not enter.

Javier Cazares, whose daughter was killed in the attack, told the news agency he suggested running in with other onlookers because the police “weren’t doing anything”.

Authorities said the gunman locked himself in a classroom which officers then struggled to gain access to.

The director of Texas Department of Public Safety, Steven McCraw told a news conference on Wednesday that the gunman was on site for between 40 minutes and an hour before law enforcement were able to “contain” him.

Meanwhile, US Border Patrol Chief Raul Ortiz, told CNN that dozens of officers responded to the shooting and “didn’t hesitate”,”they entered that classroom and they took care of the situation as quickly as they possibly could,” he said.

It has also emerged that the attacker sent messages on social media about the shooting minutes before it happened.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott said Ramos had promised to shoot his grandmother in private messages sent 30 minutes before the attack.

A later message declared he had done so, and in a final one sent 15 minutes before the shooting, he announced he would target an elementary school.

According to CNN, the private messages were sent to a 15-year-old girl in Germany who Ramos had met online.

Bbc/Adebukola Aluko https://emp.bbc.com/emp/SMPj/2.44.15/iframe.html

Foreign

Texas School Shooting Claims 19 Lives

By Web News 480

At least 18 young children and a teacher have died in a shooting at a primary school in south Texas.

The 18-year-old gunman opened fire at Robb Elementary School in the city of Uvalde before he was killed by law enforcement, officials said.

According to reports the suspect may have been carrying a semi-automatic rifle and handgun.

Shootings at primary schools, where pupils range in age from five to 11, are still relatively rare.

The attack on Tuesday comes amid a national rise in gun violence.

The Associated Press news agency reports that a Border Patrol official who was nearby when the shooting began on Tuesday morning rushed into the school and shot and killed the gunman, who was behind a barricade.

Report says the teen who may have been a high school student in the area, is also suspected of killing his grandmother at the start of the rampage.

Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District, Chief of Police, Pete Arredondo said the shooting began at 11:32 local time, and believe the attacker “did act alone during this heinous crime”.

Local hospitals said students from the school were being treated by emergency services.

A 66-year-old woman and a 10-year-old girl were in critical condition, but being treated at a hospital in San Antonio, University Health hospital officials say.

Uvalde Mayor, Don McLaughlin told ABC News in a text message: “This is a very bad situation”.

According to reports the FBI is aiding the investigation.

In a speech from the White House, US President Joe Biden said he was “sick and tired” of responding to mass shootings as he called for gun control.

He ordered that flags on the White House and other US federal buildings be flown at half-mast in honour of the victims in Uvalde.
BBC/Adebukola Aluko