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Remembering the victims of the Texas elementary school shooting

A loving mother and wife, a boy who enjoyed dancing with his family and another who was learning to play football with his grandfather.

The big picture: Nineteen children and at least two adults were killed after a gunman entered Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, on Tuesday and started shooting. It's the deadliest school shooting in the U.S. in nearly a decade.


  • Just days before summer vacation was set to begin, anguished families waited late into the night on Tuesday for word about their loved ones.

Here's what we know so far about the victims:

Nevaeh Bravo was a fourth grade student who was the "little cousin" in a big family.

  • Her cousin Emily Grace Ayala had asked for help locating her Tuesday night.
  • "She is flying with the angels above," Ayala wrote on Facebook. "We love you Nevaeh very much princess!"

Jacklyn Jaylen Cazares, 10, "had the biggest heart," her father, Jacinto Cazares told ABC 7.

  • "Jackie was the one that would go out of her way to help anyone," he said. "It gives me some comfort, that she would be the little cracker that would have done something to help her classmates in that very scary scenario."

Eliahana Cruz Torres, 10, had been eagerly awaiting her last softball game of the season on Tuesday, her family told a local CBS affiliate.

  • "She was kind of nervous, saying that it was her last game and she didn't want softball to end," her aunt said. "She was also saying like, 'what if I make it [to all stars]? I'm gonna be so nervous.' And I was like, 'girl you got this. You're gonna be good at it. You got this.'"

Jose Flores Jr., 10, was a fourth-grader who loved baseball and video games.

  • "He was always full of energy," his father, Jose Flores Sr., told CNN. "Ready to play till the night."
  • “He was a very happy little boy. He loved both his parents … and loved to laugh and have fun,” his uncle Christopher Salazar told the Washington Post.

Makenna Lee Elrod, 10, "was beautiful, funny, smart, and amazing," according to her aunt Allison McCollough.

  • "She had the biggest heart and loved her family and friends so much. Her smile would light up a room."

Eliahna Garcia, 10, was an outgoing girl who loved to sing, dance and play basketball, AP reports.

  • "She was big into family, enjoyed being with the family," her aunt Siria Arizmendi told the Post.

Irma Garcia, a teacher at Robb Elementary School, taught at the school for 23 years, per the school's website.

  • She was a co-teacher with Eva Mireles, who was also killed in the shooting.
  • Garcia was married to her husband, Joe Garcia, for 24 years and had four children. She loved to barbecue with her husband and listen to music, per the website.
  • Irma's husband, Joe, suffered a fatal heart attack on Thursday, the family told NBC. Joe and Irma were high school sweethearts.

Uziyah Garcia, 9, was "the sweetest little boy that I’ve ever known," his grandfather, Manny Renfro, said, per AP.

  • "I’m not just saying that because he was my grandkid," Renfro added.
  • Garcia had started playing football with his grandfather and they were learning plays together.
  • "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, was "full of life, a jokester, always smiling," her father, Alfred Garza III, told the New York Times.

  • "She was very social," he said. "She talked to everybody." Amerie turned 10 less than two weeks ago, her father told ABC News 7.
  • "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," her father wrote on Facebook.

Xavier Lopez, 10, was a "bubbly" boy who loved to dance with his brothers and mom and was anxiously awaiting a summer of swimming.

  • "He was just a loving 10-year-old little boy, just enjoying life, not knowing that this tragedy was going to happen today," Lisa Garza said of her cousin, per AP.
  • Lopez's mother was at the school mere hours before the shooting for an award ceremony, ABC 7 reports.

Jayce Carmelo Luevanos, 10, loved to make people laugh, the Daily Beast reports. Luevanos' cousin, Jailah Silguero, also died in the shooting.

  • "They’re in paradise dancing with the angels now," Silguero's uncle Zeke Luevanos wrote on Facebook.

Tess Marie Mata was a fourth-grader who had a "contagious laugh" and liked to tag team with her older sister when it came to their parents, according to sister Faith Mata.

  • "I just want to hold you and tell you how pretty you are, I want to take you outside and practice softball, I want to go on one last family vacation," she wrote in a Facebook tribute.
  • "[M]om, dad, and I won’t be the same without you but we are comforted knowing you are waiting for us up in heaven and have a spot for us. We have one sassy guardian angel that I know is going to protect our family."

Miranda Mathis, 11, was "very loving and very talkative," Ismael Yaya Ontiveros, whose daughter Anairayah was close friends with Mathis, told the Austin Statesman.

  • "They were the best of friends. She would always tell me, 'Yaya, can you please do my hair like you do Anairayah?'"
  • "This is just so hard my baby cousin all these babies it's so unbelievable I'm so hurt for everyone because we all lost babies in this," Mathis' cousin Deanna Miller wrote on Facebook.

Eva Mireles, 44, taught fourth graders at Robb Elementary School and was an educator for 17 years, per the school's website.

  • She loved to run and hike. "She was adventurous. I would definitely say those wonderful things about her. She is definitely going to be very missed," her relative Amber Ybarra told AP.
  • Audrey Garcia, whose daughter was a former student of Mireles, remembered her as "a beautiful person & dedicated teacher" in a tweet.

Alithia Ramirez, 10, was an aspiring artist and had recently submitted a drawing in the Doodle for Google contest, her father Ryan Ramirez told a local NBC affiliate.

  • She would want her family "to be strong" right now, he said.

Annabell Guadalupe Rodriguez, 10, was a third grader at Robb Elementary, KHOU reports.

  • Rodriguez was in the same classroom as her cousin, Jacklyn Jaylen Cazares, who was also killed in the shooting, their aunt Polly Flores confirmed to ABC News.

Maite Rodriguez, 10, was a "little girl full of life" who dreamed of attending Texas A&M University and becoming a marine biologist, according to family member Aiko Coronado.

  • "She had a beautiful smile and [was] so kind to others," Coronado wrote on Facebook. "She was beyond smart ... she knew what she wanted in life."

Lexi Rubio, 10, was a young softball player with bright prospects and had recently received a good citizen award at Robb Elementary School, her parents told CNN.

  • "She was kind, sweet, and appreciated life. She was going to be an all-star in softball and had a bright future whether it’s sports or academic. Please let the world know we miss our baby."

Layla Salazar, 10, liked to dance along to TikTok videos and had a passion for swimming, her father Vincent Salazar told the Post. She'd won six races at the school's field day.

  • The pair would sing along to "Sweet Child O’ Mine" by Guns N’ Roses every morning as he drove her to school.
  • "She was just a whole lot of fun," he said.

Jailah Nicole Silguero, 11, enjoyed dancing and had started learning how to record Tik Tok videos, her grandmother Linda Gonzales told the Daily Beast. She hadn't wanted to go to school that day.

  • "They were just so sweet," Gonzales said about Silguero and Luevanos. "They were sweet kids and lovable. What can you say about little innocent kids?"

Rojelio Torres, 10, "was a very intelligent, hard-working and helpful person," his aunt Precious Perez told KSAT, according to AP.

  • "We are devastated and heartbroken ... He will be missed and never forgotten."

Go deeper: 19 students, at least 2 adults dead in Texas elementary school shooting

Editor's note: This story has been updated with additional details throughout.

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