Hero fourth-grader shot dead in Texas as she tried to call 911: grandmother
A fourth-grader who was killed in the Robb Elementary School massacre was shot dead as she tried to call 911, her family told the Daily Beast.
Amerie Jo Garza, 10, spent her morning celebrating her appointment to the honor roll, but less than two hours later, alleged shooter Salvador Ramos had a rifle pointed in her face.
“You’re going to die,” he told Amerie Jo and other children, the child’s grandmother Berlinda Irene Arreola told the outlet.
Amerie Jo started to dial 911 but before she could make the call, Ramos killed her, Arreola said.
“Instead of grabbing it and breaking it or taking it from her, he shot her. She was sitting right next to her best friend. Her best friend was covered in her blood,” the heartbroken grandmother told the outlet.
“She died a hero trying to get help for her and her fellow classmates.”
Arreola remembered her granddaughter as “super-outgoing” and a “teacher’s pet” who enjoyed excelling in her classes. She said she’d been photographed at 10 o’clock0 that morning holding up an honor roll certificate — but just an hour and a half later, Ramos entered the school and started firing indiscriminately.
At least 19 kids and two teachers were killed in the slaughter, the worst school shooting in US history since the 2012 Sandy Hook massacre, which left 26 kids dead.
Another 15 kids and four adults were wounded in the slaughter, hospital officials said.
As Uvalde, a small town about 80 miles west of San Antonio, became consumed with news of the shooting, parents scrambled to find their missing kids and Amerie Jo’s family took to Facebook looking for others.
“I don’t ask for much or hardly even post on here but please It’s been 7 hours and I still haven’t heard anything on my love. 💔 Please fb help me find my daughter,” Amerie Jo’s stepfather, Angel Garza, wrote on Facebook around 8 p.m. local time.
Two hours later, he wrote another post saying that Amerie Jo had been killed.
“Thank you everyone for the prayers and help trying to find my baby. She’s been found. My little love is now flying high…,” Garza wrote.
“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.”
Arreola, who spoke with the Texas Rangers and survivors of the massacre, said her granddaughter died immediately.
“She was just 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 had just gotten her award today for A-B Honor Roll,” Arreola said.
“She was very smart and she was looking forward to making a life for herself.”
