Father says he learned of daughter’s death in Texas school shooting from classmate
The father of one of the young victims in the mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas, shared that he learned of his daughter’s death through one of her classmates.
In an interview with CNN’s Anderson Cooper, Angel Garza broke down while describing the moment he learned his daughter, 10-year-old Amerie Jo Garza, was dead after responding to the incident at Robb Elementary School as a med aide.
“One little girl was just covered in blood head to toe. Like, I thought she was injured. I asked her what was wrong and she said, she is OK. She was hysterical, saying that they shot her best friend. They killed her best friend and she is not breathing. She was trying to call the cops and I asked the little girl the name … and she said, ‘Amerie,’ ” Angel Garza said.
He shared that Amerie had turned 10 two weeks before the school shooting.
“She received an award yesterday for honor roll just before the shooting occurred,” Garza added in an emotional interview. “She was so smart and such a good child. Amerie is known for being a hero and trying to call 911 before the shooter took her life.”
According to Garza, Amerie was trying to call police when she was shot.
“She was so scared of strangers and things like this. She would lock the door when I would step out to put gas in the car. This is literally like her worst fear. And she was just trying to help everyone,” he added.
He added that Amerie was “the sweetest little girl” who did nothing wrong.
“She listened to mom and dad. She always bred into us. She was creative. She made things for us. She never got in trouble in school. Like I just want to know what she did,” Garza said the day after the incident that claimed the lives of 19 schoolchildren and two teachers.
Amerie also has a three-year-old brother called Zayne who, according to Garza, “asks for his sister every morning when he wakes up.”
“I just want people to know that she just died trying to save her classmates.”