The heartbroken families of two 10-year-old girls who were killed in the Uvalde school shooting along with 17 of their classmates and two teachers will put their children to rest today in the first of the massacre’s funerals.
Amerie Jo Garza and Maite Yuleana Rodriguez, both 10, were buried today in Uvalde, Texas, on what should have been the opening day of a fun-filled week of summer vacation for Robb Elementary School students.
The first of 21 funerals for those killed has taken place, as their bereaved families seek answers about the police reaction to the deadly shooting.
Amerie, who has been described by her family as a ‘ loving, sweet girl’ and a ‘little diva who hated dresses’, was shot dead by gunman Salvador Ramos, 18, after calling 911 for help.
She was killed alongside Maite, who was known by family for her ‘friendly and sweet soul’ and for her passion for learning about animals and the ocean.
Whilst Maite dreamed of becoming a marine biologist, Amerie wanted to be an art teacher – dreams that will now never be achieved.
Nineteen cops stood outside the classroom door at Robb Elementary School for an hour with the shooter trapped inside under the instruction of the school police department chief. That fatal decision is now under investigation.
On Monday, mourners gathered at the Hillcrest Memorial Funeral Home, directly across from the grade school where the children, along with two teachers, were shot to death. Visitation for Maite was at the town’s other funeral home.
Over the next two-and-a-half traumatic weeks, people in the southwestern Texas town will say goodbye to the children and their teachers, one heart-wrenching visitation, funeral and burial after another.
As family and friends unleash their grief, investigators will push for answers about how police responded to the shooting.
Amerie’s family is among many now demanding answers over the police response and whether or not it cost their children’s lives.
‘It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that it just took too long to get in there and, you know, had they gotten there sooner, and someone would have taken immediate action, we might have more of those children here today, including my daughter,’ Alfred Garza told CNN.
Her stepfather, Angel, previously told how he wept after being told by another girl that Amerie was among the dead.
Other parents have told of their unimaginable frustration at watching the cops standing outside the school, stopping them from going in to reach their kids, while the shooting unfolded.
‘We were asking and begging (authorities) to do something. I feel like they were not concerned about the real trauma that was happening inside.
‘I feel like they were not concerned about the real trauma that was happening inside,’ Jennifer Gaitan, whose daughter was in the school, said.
Police last week admitted that they did not even try and breach the door to the classroom after Ramos barricaded himself in.
One cop said it was because they thought everyone inside was already dead while another said they feared they would be shot by the 18-year-old.
Ramos had legally purchased two AR-15 rifles the week before the massacre, the first one just hours after he turned 18.
This week alone, funerals are planned for 11 children and teacher Irma Garcia. The Sacred Heart Catholic Church – the only Catholic church in Uvalde – will host up to two funerals a day beginning today.
Amerie will be the first of the victims to be buried at the Catholic church. Her family, who have said the ‘world will never have another Amerie’, will say their final farewell to their beloved child.
On Monday, some mourners at Amerie’s visitation wore lilac or lavender shades of purple – Amerie’s favorites – at the request of her father, Angel Garza. Many carried in flowers, including purple ones.
The little girl who loved to draw had just received a cellphone for her 10th birthday. One of her friends told Angel Garza that Amerie tried to use the phone to call police during the assault on her fourth-grade classroom.
Among the mourners at Amerie’s visitation were some of Maite’s relatives. Like many people, they were attending both.
Maite’s family wore green tie-dye shirts with an illustration showing Maite with angel wings. Before going into the funeral home, they stopped at the ditch to see the metal gate gunman Salvador Ramos crashed a pickup truck into before crossing a field and entering the school.
‘How did he walk for so long?’ asked Juana Magana, Maite’s aunt.
Hillcrest Memorial itself and the shooting will be forever linked. After Ramos wrecked the truck, two men at the funeral home heard the crash and ran toward the accident scene. Ramos shot at them. He missed and both men made it to safety.
Amerie’s family have paid tribute to her, writing in an obituary: ‘Amerie was a kind, caring, blunt, loving, sweet, sassy and of course funny little diva who ‘hated dresses’ but nonetheless; she truly had a heart of gold.
‘She loved to eat at Chick-Fil-A and vanilla bean frape from Starbucks. Her favorite hobbies were swimming, drawing, and most of all spending time with family.
‘Amerie’s biggest dream was to become an Art teacher due to her ambitions for creativity. A protector of her brother and as we now know her classmates. This world will never have another Amerie. She will truly be missed.’
Maite will be laid to rest this evening in a funeral service. Her family have paid tribute to her in an obituary, writing: ‘Maite was a sweet girl and those who know and loved her were blessed with her kind, ambitious, friendly and sweet soul.
‘She was an AB honor student who enjoyed learning about animals and the ocean; especially dolphins, whales, and dogs. She dreamt of attending The University of Texas A&M in Corpus Christi to become a Marine Biologist because of her caring heart towards wildlife and the animals within it.’
In addition to the children killed, teachers Irma Garcia and Eva Mireles were also shot by the gunman.
Irma’s husband Jose died of a heart attack two days later.
They will be laid to rest in a joint funeral on Wednesday, where their children will serve as some of the pallbearers.
Eliahna ‘Ellie’ Garcia’s funeral will be June 6 – the day after she was supposed to turn 10. Her family had been preparing a big birthday bash at her grandmother’s house this coming weekend. She had been hoping to receive gifts related to the Disney movie ‘Encanto.’
‘She loved that movie and talked a lot about it,’ said her aunt, Siria Arizmendi.
Ellie was quiet even around family but loved doing videos and had been already practicing with her older sister a choreography for her quinceanera party – the celebration of a girl’s 15th birthday – even though it was still five years away, Arizmendi said.
Ellie’s older sister is doing OK, Arizmendi said, understanding their family and others face a long road to recovery.
‘It is just sad for all the children,’ she said.
Funeral directors, embalmers and others from across Texas arrived to help. Jimmy Lucas, president of the Texas Funeral Directors Association, brought a hearse and volunteered to work as a driver, pitch in for services, or do whatever he could, he told NBC News. Other arriving morticians were there to help with facial reconstruction services given the damage caused by the shooter’s military-style rifle.
Gov. Greg Abbott, speaking at a Memorial Day event in Longview, urged Texans to keep Uvalde in their prayers.
‘What happened in Uvalde was a horrific act of evil,’ Abbott said. ‘And as Texans, we must come together and lift up Uvalde and support them in every way that we possibly can. It is going to take time to heal the devastation that the families there have gone through and are going through, But be assured, we will not relent until Uvalde recovers.’
The U.S. Department of Justice announced Sunday a review of the law enforcement response. Police have come under heavy criticism for taking well over an hour to kill Ramos inside the adjoining classrooms where he unleashed carnage.
Officials revealed Friday that students and teachers repeatedly begged 911 operators for help as a police commander told more than a dozen officers to wait in a hallway. Officials said the commander believed the suspect was barricaded inside an adjoining classroom and that there was no longer an active attack.
The revelation raised new questions about whether lives were lost because officers did not act faster to stop the gunman, who was ultimately killed by Border Patrol tactical officers.
Authorities have said Ramos legally purchased two guns not long before the school attack: an AR-style rifle on May 17 and a second rifle on May 20. He had just turned 18, permitting him to buy the weapons under federal law.
A day after visiting Uvalde and pledging, ‘We will,’ in response to people chanting, ‘Do something,’ President Joe Biden on Monday expressed some optimism that there may be some bipartisan support to tighten restrictions on the kind of high-powered weapons used by the gunman.
‘I think things have gotten so bad that everybody’s getting more rational, at least that’s my hope,’ Biden told reporters before honoring the nation’s fallen in Memorial Day remarks at Arlington National Cemetery.
‘The Second Amendment was never absolute,’ Biden said. ‘You couldn’t buy a cannon when the Second Amendment was passed. You couldn’t go out and buy a lot of weapons.’
A bipartisan group of senators talked over the weekend to see if they could reach even a modest compromise on gun safety legislation. Encouraging state ‘red flag’ laws to keep guns away from those with mental health issues, and addressing school security and mental health resources were on the table, said Sen. Chris Murphy, who is leading the effort.
The group will meet again this week under a 10-day deadline to strike a deal.