Texas shooting | Salvador Ramos: Eva Mireles and Irma García, teachers who gave their lives to protect Uvalde elementary school children | Description | EC stories | The world

“We have a wonderful year ahead of us!”

This sweet and simple phrase written by a fourth grader Eva Mirrors At the beginning of the school year, it now raises many emotions.

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This Thursday, the last day of school, she and her fellow teacher Irma Garcia They have to set aside items from the shared classroom at Rob Elementary School in the small town of Wolde, Texas.

They need to be ready for the summer holidays.

But that is not the case: after the two were shot dead, their families are making arrangements for their funeral. His 19 younger students also died.

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In the days after Tuesday’s attack, Mireles and Garcia Praised the effort to protect children During the massacre.

Garcia’s son – in – law John Martinez told the newspaper that police found him “guarding the children with his hands until his last breath.” The New York Times.

“He sacrificed himself to protect the children in his classroom. He was a hero,” he wrote on the open fundraising page for the family.

Two days later, his family experienced another tragedy Professor Garcia’s husband Joe Garcia died of a heart attack. Martinez says he “died of grief.”

“Fun, Laughter and Love”

Garcia and Mirels formed an editorial board for five years. It was between the two of them 40 years of experience.

A photo taken last month shows the two students working on electronic tablets in their classroom.

“Eva Mirels and Irma Garcia are two of the best teachers Wolde has ever known,” tweeted Natalie Arias, an educator living in Texas.

“His classroom was full of fun, growth, laughter, teamwork and, above all, love.”

While the community is still grieving, a mass shooting at a school in the United States has again caused outrage.

In Texas it is legal for people over the age of 18 to buy a gun Also, according to American media, the attacker bought his – two AR-15-style semi-automatic rifles and 375 bullets – the day after his 18th birthday.

“I’m angry that these shootings continue, these children are innocent, guns are not easily accessible to everyone,” Eva Mirels’ aunt Lydia Martinez Delcado said in a statement.

“This is my hometown, a small community of less than 20,000 people. I never thought this would happen, especially to my loved ones,” he wrote.

Mirels’ husband, Ruben Ruiz, is a school police officer. Two months ago, at Uvalde School, he conducted an active sniper training, which is common in American schools.

A few weeks later, he did not know that his own wife would be the victim.

Newspaper Washington Post Upon hearing about the shooting, Ruiz Rob ran to Elementary. The other cops had to stop him when he was desperately trying to find his wife.

At least 185 children, educators and many others have been killed in attacks on schools Americans since the Columbine High massacre in 1999, according to the same newspaper.

Even after many incidents There is a monument dedicated to “fallen academics” in the state of Kansas. It honors “those who lost their lives on duty.”

Those words, very familiar to the military, are used here to describe the slain teachers. Now two more names are engraved on the wall of the victims to be remembered.

Eva Mirrors

Mireles, who has been a teacher for 17 years, described his interest in running and hiking in a short autobiography published on the school district’s website.

She also said she has a “supportive, fun, loving family” with her husband, a college graduate daughter and “three furry friends”.

His daughter, Adoline Ruiz, wrote a heartbreaking tribute to her “sweet mummy” on Twitter.

“I’m so glad people know your name and your beautiful face, I know what kind of hero she is,” he said.

“Eva Mirelus, a 4th grade teacher … stood up selflessly to save the lives of her students.”

Mireles was trained in special education. Audrey Garcia, a student’s mother, remembers her call for duty as a teacher to go “above and beyond.”

“She was a beautiful person and a dedicated teacher. She trusted KP and did everything she could to teach her,” Garcia wrote on Twitter.

A few years ago, schools in the Uvalde area began integrating children with disabilities into regular classrooms. Mirals was one of the teachers who taught these students.

Irma Garcia

Garcia was a teacher with 23 years of experience at Rob Elementary. Was Best Teacher of 2019.

“I’m so excited to start this new school year!” Wrote in his bio on the district’s website.

Authorities told his family that a police friend saw Garcia trying to protect his students from the shooting.

“I want him to be remembered as someone who sacrificed his life and risked his life for his students,” his son-in-law John Martinez said. Washington Post.

“They are not only her students, they are her children, she risked her life, she lost her life, to protect them, she’s like that.”

Garcia was married with two boys and two girls aged 12 to 23. His Facebook page is an album of family memories and pride for his children.

“Thank you Jesus for my wonderful husband and children,” he captioned to a photo of a family fishing trip.

The teacher’s social networks show his commitment to his profession and students.

In a post showing the credentials of the teaching course, Garcia wrote, “I have learned many new ways to challenge my future students to learn independently.”