(NewsNation) — A 10-year-old boy, who was looking forward to a summer of swimming and a veteran teacher of more than 23 years are among the 21 people dead after an 18-year-old gunman open fired at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas on Tuesday.
As of Wednesday morning, at least 19 students and two teachers have died. An additional 17 others were hurt and continue to receive care, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety.
All of the victims were in the same fourth-grade classroom when the gunman barricaded himself inside and began shooting at the children and teachers, according to officials.
Now, the tight-knit community 85 miles west of San Antonio, is remembering those who were lost.
“My heart is broken,” said Hal Harrell, the school district superintendent. “We’re a small community, and we’re going to need your prayers to get through this.”
This is what we know so far about those who died:
Nevaeh Bravo, 10
Nevaeh Bravo was a student at Robb Elementary School. Her cousin, Emily Grace Ayala, said she was a fourth-grader, according to Insider.
“We love you Nevaeh very much, princess!” Ayala wrote. “Please everyone continue to keep her parents and our family in your prayers.”
Jackie Cazares, 9
Jackie Cazares shared a classroom with her cousin, Annebelle Rodriguez, who was also 10. Their aunt confirmed their deaths saying: “My beautiful angels. At least you are together. But our hearts are broken in a million pieces. We love you.”
Her father, Javier Cazares, described Jackie as a “firecracker” who loved singing, dancing and gymnastics.
Makenna Lee Elrod, 10
“Makenna Lee Elrod was a light to all who knew her,” reads the 10-year-old’s obituary. “Her smile would light up a room Makenna loved to write notes to her family and leave them in hidden places to be found later. Makenna was a natural leader and loved school. Makenna loved going to the ranch with her dad to feed animals and ride on the ranger. She was full of life and will live on in the hearts of all who knew and loved her.”
Jose Flores, 10
Jose Flores, 10, was a fourth-grader at Robb Elementary School. He was among those killed in the Texas school shooting.
According to the Washington Post, his uncle Christopher Salazar confirmed Flores’s death, saying he loved to play baseball. Flores was one of four kids, having two brothers and a sister.
Flores had received an award for making the honor roll just hours before the shooting.
Eliahna Garcia, 10
Relatives of 10-year-old Eliahna Garcia, “Ellie”, recalled her love of family.
“She was very happy and very outgoing,” said Eliahna’s aunt, Siria Arizmendi, a fifth-grade teacher at Flores Elementary School in the same district. “She loved to dance and play sports. She was big into family, enjoyed being with the family.”
Irma Garcia, 46
Irma Garcia, 46, a fourth-grade teacher at Robb Elementary School, was among those killed in the Robb Elementary shooting.
Garcia had been an educator for 23 years, all of which she taught at Robb Elementary. For the past 5 years, she has been a co-educator with Eva Mireles, according to her staff biography at Robb Elementary.
A wife and mother of four kids, Garcia loved to barbecue with her husband of 24 years, listen to music and go on cruises.
Irma’s husband Joe died two days after the mass shooting, reportedly suffering from a heart attack.
Uziyah Garcia, 10
Uziyah Garcia was among those killed in the Robb Elementary School shooting.
“The sweetest little boy that I’ve ever known,” his grandfather Manny Renfro said. “I’m not just saying that because he was my grandkid.”
Garcia had visited his grandfather in San Angelo during spring break.
“We started throwing the football together and I was teaching him pass patterns. Such a fast little boy and he could catch a ball so good,” Renfro said. “There were certain plays that I would call that he would remember and he would do it exactly like we practiced.”
Amerie Jo Garza, 10
In a Facebook post, Garza’s father Angel Garza confirmed the loss of his daughter, writing:
“Thank you everyone for the prayers and help trying to find my baby. She’s been found. My little love is now flying high with the angels above. Please don’t take a second for granted. Hug your family. Tell them you love them. I love you Amerie jo. Watch over your baby brother for me.”
Xavier Javier Lopez, 10
Xavier Javier Lopez, 10, was a fourth-grader and is among those killed in the Robb Elementary School shooting. According to his cousin Lisa Garza, he was looking forward to a summer full of swimming. She also said he was a bubbly soul who loved to dance with his siblings and mother.
“He was just a loving 10-year-old little boy, just enjoying life, not knowing that this tragedy was going to happen today,” she said. “He was very bubbly, loved to dance with his brothers, his mom. This has just taken a toll on all of us.”
Jayce Carmelo Luevanos, 10
Jayce Luevanos wanted to skip school the day of the shooting, his family said. He had begged to go along with his grandmother on Tuesday as she accompanied her great-granddaughter’s kindergarten class to the San Antonio Zoo. But the family told Jayce it didn’t make sense to skip school so close to the end of the year. Besides, Jayce liked school.
“That’s why my wife is hurting so much, because he wanted to go to San Antonio,” Carmelo Quiroz, Jayce’s grandfather, told USA Today. “He was so sad he couldn’t go. Maybe if he would have gone, he’d be here.”
Tess Mata, 10
Tess Mata was an athletic kid who loved softball, soccer and gymnastics, according to her obituary.
Maranda Mathis, 11
Maranda Mathis was among those killed at Robb Elementary.
She is remembered for her heart in her obituary: “She was sweet, smart and a shy tom boy who enjoyed being within nature and spending time outdoors. Those who knew Maranda, knew her great imagination and often expressed her love for unicorns and mermaids, especially if they were her favorite color purple.”
Eva Mireles, 44
Eva Mireles, 44, was a fourth-grade teacher at Robb Elementary School who lost her life during the shooting. She was a loving mother and wife. A relative of Mireles said she was an adventurous soul.
Mireles has been an educator for 17 years, and co-taught with fellow fourth-grade teacher Irma Garcia for 5 years, according to her staff biography at Robb Elementary.
Cecelia Flores described Mireles as a “warrior.” Flores is a Uvalde police officer and worked with Eva’s husband, Ruben.
“I believe that she was a true warrior giving her life up for those kids. And she did it out of out of love and nothing else,” Flores said.
Alithia Ramirez, 10
Alithia Ramirez’s father Ryan Ramirez rushed to Robb Elementary when he heard about the shooting, hoping to find his daughter and take her home, KTRK-TV reported. But Alithia, too, was among the victims.
Ramirez’s Facebook page includes a photo, now shown around the world, of the little girl wearing the multi-colored T-shirt that announced she was out of “single digits” after turning 10 years old. The same photo was posted again Wednesday with no words, but with Alithia wearing angel wings.
Annabell Rodriguez, 10
Annabell Rodriguez, just 10 years old, shared a classroom with her cousin, Jackie Cazares, who was also 10. Their aunt confirmed their deaths saying: “My beautiful angels. At least you are together. But our hearts are broken in a million pieces. We love you.”
Maite Yuleana Rodriguez, 10
Maite was an honor roll student with a passion for animals and learning about the ocean, her obituary says. He dreamed of being a marine biologist when she grew up.
Alexandria Aniyah Rubio, 10
Alexandria Aniyah Rubio, who went by the nickname “Lexi,” was a sharp student and driven athlete, her family remembers in her obituary. She planned to earn a softball scholarship to attend college, where she planned to major in math. She aspired to attend law school one day and become a lawyer. She looked up to Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, with whom she was proud to share a name.
Lexi had big dreams to travel to Australia and to live somewhere where it snows. She also relished in the small joys of life, like a cake pop from Starbucks and baking cookies with her great-grandmother.
Layla Salazar, 10
Daughter of Vincent Salazar, Layla, loved to swim and dance to videos on TikTok, her father said. An avid runner, she won six races at the school’s field day. Salazar proudly posted a photo of Layla showing off two of her ribbons on Facebook.
Each morning as he drove her to school in his pickup, Salazar would play “Sweet Child O’ Mine,” by Guns ‘n’ Roses and they’d sing along, he said. She was excited about seeing the new Marvel movie, “Thor: Love and Thunder.”
Jailah Nicole Silguero, 10
Jailah Nicole Silguero was another one of the victims in the Robb Elementary school shooting. Her mother, Veronica Luevanos, tearfully told Univision that her daughter did not want to go to school Tuesday and seemed to sense something bad was going to happen. Jailah’s cousin also died in the shooting.
Eliahana Cruz Torres, 10
Eliahana played softball, alongside several of her classmates.
“Every time she would go practice, she was always eager, because she was the type of kid that wanted to do her best,” her aunt, Laura Cabrales, told NBC News. “She loved everything about the game, whether she was pitching, catching or in the outfield — it really didn’t matter to her.”
Rojelio Torres, 10
Rojelio’s family remembers him as a happy boy who loved football and Pokemon. “Rojelio was an outgoing little boy, he loved life, loved being outside and he always had a smile on his face.”
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
