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27th May 2022

Husband of school teacher killed in Texas shooting dies of heart attack

Stephen Porzio

Family members of Joe Garcia have said he passed away “due to grief”.

The husband of one of the teachers killed in a school shooting in Texas earlier this week has died of a heart attack, according to his family.

Joe Garcia was married to Irma Garcia, a fourth-grade teacher who was fatally shot at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde on Tuesday 24 May, along with a colleague and 19 children.

In a post on Twitter on Thursday, Irma’s nephew John Martinez wrote that Joe passed away “due to grief”.

Irma and Joe were high school sweethearts and married 24 years. They leave behind four children.

“Extremely heartbreaking and come with deep sorrow to say that my tia Irma’s husband Joe Garcia has passed away due to grief,” John wrote.

“I truly am at a loss for words for how we are all feeling.

“Please pray for our family. God have mercy on us, this isn’t easy.”

In a follow-up post, John added: “My tia Irma and Joe Garcia were high school sweethearts and leave behind four beautiful children, their ages being 23, 19, 15 and the youngest only being 13-years-old.

“No child should have to go through this, my heart breaks for them.”

On Tuesday morning, 18-year-old Salvador Ramos shot his grandmother in the face before taking her car to drive to Robb Elementary School with a rifle.

He subsequently opened fire on a classroom, killing 19 children and two teachers, before he was eventually shot dead by police.

Ramos’ grandmother, 66, is said to be in critical condition after being transported to hospital.