FRIDAY, MAY 27 , 2022. THE WASHINGTON POST EZ SU A
Texas school shootingCOURTESY OF ERICA MENAFAMILY PHOTO/REUTERS FAMILY PHOTO/REUTERSFAMILY PHOTO/REUTERS FAMILY PHOTOFAMILY PHOTO FAMILY PHOTO/REUTERSFAMILY PHOTO/REUTERSFAMILY PHOTO COURTESY OF MATA FAMILY COURTESY OF FELIX RUBIOCOURTESY OF LETICIA GARCIAUziyah Garcia, 10
Uziyah Garcia was getting ready for long days
of football, swimming, video games and whatever
other fun the summer might offer after he
finished fourth grade.
“He was the sweetest, the kindest child,” his
aunt Leticia Garcia, of Grand Prairie, Tex., said in
a telephone interview. “Very polite. Loved Jesus.
He loved, absolutely loved, his parents.”
The 10-year-old was among those slain
Tuesday at Robb Elementary, Garcia said. He had
two sisters, Garcia said, ages 15 and 7.
A grandfather, Manny Renfro, told the
Associated Press that Uziyah had last visited him
in San Angelo, Tex., during spring break, and he
taught his grandson football pass patterns.
Renfro said Uziyah was the “sweetest little boy
that I’ve ever known.”
“I’m not just saying that because he was my
grandkid,” he said.
— Justin Wm. MoyerEllie Garcia, 9
Ellie Garcia loved her family. The second-old-
est of five girls, the fourth-grader was always
around her sisters. Ellie’s father is a DJ, and the
girl was constantly singing and dancing with her
siblings to the cumbia — a type of Latin music —
he’d play. Her great aunt, Siria Arizmendi,
described Ellie as “spontaneous,” saying the girl
would break into song and dance at the family’s
frequent gatherings.
She didn’t really care who you were,” Arizmen-
di said. “If you showed her you cared for her, she
was very loving to you.”
Arizmendi said the family was full of love and
she can’t remember Ellie ever fighting with her
sisters. She also had a close bond with her
maternal grandmother.
Outside of family, Ellie was an athlete. A little
tall for her age, the girl liked basketball the most.
“She was just very happy,” Arizmendi said.
The Garcia family spent Tuesday afternoon
looking for Ellie. They went to the hospital,
community places, searching for their daughter,
Arizmendi said.
They learned of her death Tuesday evening,
after authorities took DNA from parents to
identify the fourth-grade victims.
— Perry SteinT ess Mata, 10
Tess Mata was saving up. Her purple bedroom
in Uvalde boasts a jar full of cash, which she was
hoping to use for a family vacation to Disney
World in Florida. She loved her family and spent
as many milestone moments with them as
possible — like her 10th birthday celebration in
February at a San Antonio shopping center, or
the college ring ceremony for her older sister
Faith last year at Texas State University in San
Marcos.
Tess, known by many as Tessy, was among
those slain at Robb Elementary, relatives said.
In an interview, relatives said she loved TikTok
dance videos, the Nickelodeon show “Victorious”
starring Ariana Grande, and the discount store
Five Below. Her favorite team? Easy. The Hous-
ton Astros. Near that jar of cash in her bedroom
hangs a poster of Astros second baseman José
Altuve.
“Every time he came up to bat, she would
scream and yell for him,” said Tess’s mother,
Veronica Mata, a kindergarten teacher at an-
other school.
That was Tessy’s style. She was always positive.
She rarely complained, her mom said.
“Her teachers would always say she was so
nice and calm,” Veronica said.
— Ian ShapiraA merie Jo Garza, 10
Amerie Jo Garza was an honor-roll student, a
proud big sister and an all-around good kid who
brushed her teeth without a fuss and listened to
her mother and teachers, family said.
Angel Garza, the girl’s father, confirmed her
death online and in a tearful interview with
CNN’s Anderson Cooper late Wednesday. After
learning of his daughter’s death, Garza posted
photos of his daughter with the caption, “I will
never be happy or complete again.”
On Wednesday, as he spoke to Cooper stand-
ing in front of a line of yellow police tape, Garza
clutched a framed picture of Amerie to his chest.
Amerie was a cautious child, her father said.
She was afraid of strangers and didn’t like being
left alone — even if it was only for a moment,
while Garza stepped out of the car to fill it up
with gas.
“She would lock the door,” he said on CNN.
“This is literally like her worst fear.”
In her last moments, Garza said, Amerie tried
to call for help. Garza, a first responder who
arrived at the scene on Tuesday to render
emergency medical aid to those inside the
school, said he was treating a little girl covered in
blood when the child told him her friend had
been killed just as she called 911.
“She was hysterical, saying they shot her best
friend, her best friend wasn’t breathing and she
was just trying to call the cops,” Garza said
through broken sobs. “I asked the little girl the
name and she said, she told me Amerie.”
— Marissa J. LangMakenna Lee Elrod, 10
Makenna Lee Elrod loved t o dance and s ing a nd
“made friends everywhere she went,” an aunt told
ABC News.
The aunt, Allison McCullough, confirmed to
ABC that the 10-year-old was one of the victims in
the Tuesday shooting. Another relative, who de-
clined to be named, also confirmed Makenna’s
death to The Post, and news of the family’s loss
was circulating on social media.
“She was beautiful, funny, smart, and amazing,”
McCullough wrote on a GoFundMe page that was
seeking support for the family. “She had the
biggest heart and loved her family and friends so
much. Her smile would light up a room.”
Makenna’s father, Brandon Elrod, spoke with
ABC on Tuesday afternoon amid the chaos in
Uvalde. At the time, he was one of many frantic
Robb Elementary parents searching for their
children. He said, choking up, that he didn’t know
“what this world’s coming to.”
— Nick AndersonRojelio Torres, 10
Rojelio Torres, a round-faced 10-year-old, was
killed in the attack at Robb Elementary.
Eva Dulia Orta, his mother, told ABC News
that Rojelio was a “very smart and loving child.”
Losing him, she added, felt like losing “a
piece of my heart.”
On her Facebook page, Orta posted a picture
of her son, smiling and wearing a blue polo
shirt. She wrote: “R.I.P. to my son Rojelio Torres
we love you and miss you.”
— Marissa J. LangA nnabell Rodriguez, 10
Annabell Rodriguez was among those slain,
according to a Facebook post from a relative and
interviews family members gave to media outlets.
Javier Cazares, whose 9-year-old daughter
Jacklyn Cazares was also killed in the shooting,
said his daughter was close with Rodriguez, who
was her second cousin.
“They are all gone now,” Cazares told the Asso-
ciated Press.
Polly Flores, Annabell’s great-aunt, told the
New York Times that the girl was outgoing and
loved being the center of attention.
“She was my little diva,” Flores said.
In a Facebook post on the day of the shooting,
Lidia Anthony Luna wrote that she was seeking
help to find “my little sister Annabell Guadalupe
Rodriguez,” then added an update. “She’s no
longer with us my poor sweet little girl,” she wrote.
— Justin Wm. MoyerMiranda Mathis, 11
Miranda Mathis was among those killed in her
fourth-grade class, according to a family friend
and a Facebook post by her cousin.
“My sweet baby cousin,” Deanna Miller wrote
on Facebook, “we loved u dearly I’m so sorry this
happen to u baby.”
Leslie Ruiz, a friend of Miranda’s mother who
had counseled her about the death, said in a
message to The P ost that Miranda was “fun” and
“spunky.” The 11-year-old was also “very smart,”
she said.
Miranda’s best friend was her brother, Ruiz
said, adding that the boy was also at the school
when gunfire broke out in his sister’s class.
— Meryl KornfieldMaite Rodriguez, 10
Maite Rodriguez had a beautiful smile and was
kind to others, her cousin wrote on Facebook.
“She was her mommy’s only girl. She was her
mom’s best friend. She was the light of her life!”
Aiko Coronado wrote. “She was beyond smart.
Her dream was to attend Texas A&M University
to become a marine biologist.”
Maite was among those slain Tuesday at Robb
Elementary, according to the Facebook post and
a family friend.
The family friend confirmed to The Post that
Maite was killed but asked not to be named to
protect his privacy.
— Karina ElwoodLayla Salazar, 10
Layla Salazar, 10, was among those killed in
the shooting Tuesday, according to a Facebook
post from her father Vincent Salazar, who also
confirmed her death to the Associated Press.
“Yesterday we lost our heart our whole
world,” Salazar wrote. “We Love you Baby girl.”
The post was accompanied by photos of Layla
holding first-place field day ribbons and smiling
with her family. Salazar told the Associated
Press that she won six races at the school’s field
day, and on Thursday shared a video of his
daughter racing with the caption, “run with the
angels baby!”
He wrote that he and Layla would listen to
“Sweet Child O’ Mine” by Guns N’ Roses on the
way to school in the mornings. Salazar said the
song is now the only thing bringing him peace.
— Karina ElwoodJayce Luevanos, 10
Jayce Luevanos was among those slain,
according to a Facebook post from his aunt and
an interview his grandfather gave to USA Now.
Carmelo Quiroz said his grandson lived with
him, and would make him a pot of coffee each
morning.
“He was our baby,” Quiroz said.
In a Facebook post, Veronica Luevanos —
Jayce’s aunt and mother of shooting victim
Jailah Nicole Silguero — wrote over pictures of
her daughter and his cousin: “My baby you
didn’t deserve this neither did your classmates.”
— Justin Wm. MoyerAlexandria “Lexi” Rubio, 10
Lexi Rubio, 10, was a standout student and
athlete who played basketball and softball, ac-
cording to those who knew her.
Like Ellie Garcia, she was a member of the
Spurs, a girls’ basketball team that won a local
championship in March, the coach’s wife said. In a
photo from that day, she stands beaming next to
her teammates in a maroon and black uniform, a
medal around her neck.
On Tuesday, her parents came to Robb Elemen-
tary to see her receive a certificate for making the
honor roll, as well as a good citizen award, her
mother, Kimberly Rubio, wrote in a Facebook
post.
“We told her we loved her and would pick her
up after school,” she wrote.
Lexi’s father, Felix Rubio, a deputy with the
Uvalde County sheriff’s office, told CNN that he
wants to see action on gun violence.
“All I can hope is that she’s just not a number,”
he told the cable network, overcome by emotion.
“This is enough. No one else needs to go through
this.”
— Joanna SlaterAlice Crites, Jennifer Jenkins, Lauren Lumpkin,
Monika Mathur, Razzan Nakhlawi and Claire Tr an
contributed to this report.