The stepfather fought through tears to recall the painful story
A distraught father has spoken of the harrowing moment when he learned that his daughter was one of the victims of the recent mass shooting at a Texas school.
18-year-old Salvador Ramos shot and killed 19 students and two teachers after he opened fire at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, yesterday morning. The incident has already been labelled as one of the worst school shootings in American history.
Among the incident's many young victims was 10-year-old Amerie Jo Garza who was reportedly shot whilst attempting to call 911 following Ramos' attack.
The brave young girl has since been labeled a hero for her valiant attempts to alert the authorities - and now her stepfather Angel Garza has spoken publicly about how he learned that she tragically did not survive Ramos' rampage.
"She was just trying to do the right thing, she was just trying to call the cops," explained Garza, speaking to
CNN reporter Anderson Cooper.
"She was just so scared of strangers... she would lock the door when I would step out to put gas in the car. This is literally her worst fear and she was just trying to help everyone."
The full conversation can be viewed below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xvPOGcHrpRU
Garza continued, explaining how he discovered that his stepdaughter was one of Ramos' victims.
"I'm a med-aid, so when I arrived on the scene they still had kids inside. They started bringing the kids out," he began.
"One little girl was just covered in blood, head to toe.
"I thought she was injured. I asked her what was wrong, she said she was okay. She was hysterical saying they shot her best friend, that they killed her best friend and she's not breathing and she was trying to call the cops."
It's here where Garza struggles to recount the story, managing "I asked the little girl the name and she said Amerie," before breaking down into tears.
Amerie had won an award that morning for the school's A-B Honor Roll mere hours before the shooting took place.
As covered on
The Independent, the child's grandmother Berlinda Irene Arreola spoke of the bright future that laid ahead of Amerie.
“She was super-outgoing. She had a generous heart. She was always there to lend anybody a helping hand. She was very quick to be a teacher’s pet.
"She was very smart and she was looking forward to making a life for herself.”
Arreola added: “My granddaughter was shot and killed for trying to call 911, she died a hero trying to get help for her and her fellow classmates."
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