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30th May 2022

Girl pens tribute to parents who died following Texas school shooting

Sarah McKenna Barry

“I will spend the rest of my life fighting for you and mum. Your names will not be forgotten.”

A girl who lost her mother and father last week following the shooting at Uvadle, Texas has paid tribute to her late parents.

Schoolteacher Irma Garcia (48) was among the 21 people killed in the tragedy, and her husband Jose Antonio (50) passed away after suffering a heart attack two days later.

Irma and Jose were parents to four children – Cristian (23), Jose (19), Lyliana (15) and Alysandra (13). Lyliana has since paid tribute to her mother and father in a letter.

As The Mirror reports, the letter read: “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 mum. Your names will not be forgotten. Your daughter, Lyliana.”

Ms Garcia was one of two schoolteachers who were killed in the shooting, alongside her colleague Eva Mireles (44).

In a tribute shared online last week, Ms Mireles’ daughter Adalynn said that she had “no words” to describe her grief.

On Twitter, she wrote: “I never thought that I would be here writing this type of post for you. Mom, you are a hero. I keep telling myself that this isn’t real. I just want to hear your voice.”

In the post, she reflected on memories of her mother, and moments from their daily routine. She thanked her mum for giving her the “best times” of her life.

She wrote: “Thank you for being my best friend. Thank you for being the best mom anyone could ask for. You are so known by many now and I’m so happy that people know your name and that beautiful face of yours and they know what a hero looks like.”

The children who were killed in the shooting have been named as Neveah Bravo (10), Jacklyn Jaylen Cazares (9) Makenna Lee Elrod (10), Jose Flores (10), Eliana Garcia (9), Uziyah Garcia (9), Amerie Jo Garza (10), Xavier Javier Lopez (10), Jayce Carmelo Luevanos (10), Tess Marie Mata (10), Maranda Mathis (11), Alithia Ramirez (10), Annabell Guadalupe Rodriguez (10), Maite Yuleana Rodriguez (10), Alexandria Aniyah Rubio (10), Layla Salazar (11), Jailah Nicole Silguero (11), Eliahana Cruz Torres (10) and Rogelio Torres (10).