May 25 (Reuters) – Alexandria Aniyah Rubio, a fourth-grader at Robb Elementary, was beaming with pride on Tuesday in a family photo posted on Facebook by her mother that shows the girl holding an “A” certificate in the box. honor he earned for his excellent school grades. .
Hours after the photo was taken, a gunman stormed Alexandria’s classroom, killing her, 18 other children and two teachers in the deadliest US school shooting in nearly a decade. .
“We told her we loved her and would pick her up after school,” Alexandria’s mother, Kimberly Mata-Rubio, said in the Facebook post. “We had no idea this was goodbye.”
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Mata-Rubio was one of many who shared memories of their murdered family and friends on social media. The posts were heartbreaking to read.
“My baby, you didn’t deserve this,” Veronica Luevanos, the mother of fourth grader Jailah Silguero, wrote on Facebook on Wednesday. The publication also mourned the girl’s classmates, teachers and her cousin Jayce Carmelo Luevanos, who were also killed in the shooting.
Thinking of her late sister Tess Mata, Faith Mata said she mostly remembers the fun times they had together.
“Sissy, I miss you so much,” Faith wrote on Facebook.
“I just want to hug you and tell you how beautiful you are, I want to take you outside and practice softball, I want to go on one last family vacation, I want to hear your infectious laugh, and I want you to listen to me.” tell you how much I love you.”
The Texas rampage was the deadliest school shooting since December 2012, when a gunman killed 26 people, including 20 children, at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut.
Uvalde, deep in the Texas Hill Country about 80 miles (130 km) west of San Antonio, has about 16,000 residents, nearly 80% of them Hispanic or Latino, according to US Census data. Like Newtown, it is a close-knit community of strong family and friendship connections.
GoFundMe pages have been created for the community and for some of the families, with the goal of raising funds to pay for funerals.
Looking for money for the burial of fourth grader Xavier López, relatives wrote: “We as a family know that he is now with his grandfather Benny in the Kingdom of Heaven.”
More than $100,000 has been raised so far from some 3,900 donations, well beyond the $17,000 goal.
Family members did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment on Wednesday.
‘BIG TIGHT HUG’
In another social media post, Steven Garcia paid a sad tribute to his lost daughter: “Our Ellie was a doll and she was the happiest of them all… I was going to DJ for her at her party like she loved me too! !”.
Messages of support and condolences flooded Garcia’s page. “Not only was she my little cousin, she was also my daughter’s age,” wrote Eli B. Ruiz.
“Remember the day of my father’s funeral, Steven Garcia gave me a big hug, I will do the same for him.”
Uvalde resident Erica Mena also lamented Ellie, who played on a local youth basketball team. She shared a series of photos on Facebook of the team during games and holding trophies.
“Ellie was our hype girl and the heart of the team, never missing a practice and being the loudest when it came to cheering on her team!” Mena wrote on Facebook.
Ten-year cousins Annabelle Rodriguez and Jacklyn Jaylen Cazares were also victims of the shooting, ABC News reported.
“Jackie was the one who went out of her way to help anyone,” her father said. “It gives me some comfort that she’s the little cookie who would have done something to help her classmates in that scary scenario.”
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Written by Costas Pitas and Maria Caspani; Edited by Frank McGurty and David Gregorio
Our standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
Reference-www.reuters.com