Uvalde shooting victim's orphaned daughter writes emotional tribute for parents
Irma Garcia's husband died of a heart attack two days after losing his wife in the Texas shooting.
The daughter of school teacher Irma Garcia, who was killed in last week's mass shooting at a Texas school, has written an emotional tribute to her parents.
The family was already reeling from Irma Garcia's death when her husband, Joe Garcia, also died of a heart attack two days after the shooting at Robb Elementary school in Uvalde, Texas.
This is Irma Garcia.
— Goodable (@Goodable) May 25, 2022
When the gunman in Uvalde opened fire on her classroom, she physically shielded her students from the bullets.
At Goodable, we'll never mention the name of the gunman. But we'll mention Irma's all day long.
Irma Garcia.
Know her name. pic.twitter.com/KOMQPH9VqJ
Their 16-year-old daughter, Lyliana Garcia, wrote the note on a memorial left to her dad at the same place he had laid flowers for his beautiful wife of 24 years. The family believes that Joe Garcia could not handle the grief and died of a broken heart.
"Dad, I know this was too much for you. Your heart could not take it. I will spend the rest of my life fighting for you and mom. Your names will not be forgotten. Your daughter, Lyliana," she wrote, according to The Mirror.
Joe Garcia had visited a memorial to his late wife just hours before he collapsed at his house and died. The couple were married for 24 years after meeting in high school. They have now left behind Lyliana and three other children.
The couple's oldest child is a Marine, their other son Jose Garcia, attends Texas State University, the eldest daughter, Lyliana Garcia, is a high school sophomore, while her younger sister is in the seventh grade.
An online fundraiser has also been organised by Garcia's cousin Debra Austin for the orphaned children. It has managed to raise almost £2 million for them so far.
The Texas incident is one of the deadliest school shootings in the United States since the 2012 attack in Newtown, Connecticut. Irma Garcia was one of two teachers killed by shooter Salvador Ramos along with 19 children. The killed students were all from the same fourth-grade classroom.
