Remembering the victims of the Uvalde school shooting
Alexandria “Lexi” Rubio, 10
Felix and Kimberly Rubio had just celebrated their daughter Lexi's achievements at school before she was killed.
Lexi, who was 10 years old and in the fourth grade, had made the All-A honor roll and received a good citizen award, her parents told CNN.
"We told her we loved her and would pick her up after school. We had no idea this was goodbye," Kimberly Rubio wrote in a post on Facebook.
The parents told CNN they were proud of their daughter.
"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."
Eva Mireles, 44
One of the two adult victims in Uvalde was Eva Mireles, a fourth grade teacher who had worked for the district for about 17 years. Her husband, Ruben Ruiz, is a police officer in the school district. He was one of several officers who responded to the shooting and were apparently shot at by the shooter, but he was not injured.
Mireles’ aunt, Lydia Martinez Delgado, said in a message to the Los Angeles Times that she was furious to lose her niece in such a “tragic” and “senseless” way. The U.S., she said, needed to act on gun laws and expand background checks.
“It’s so easy for young, mental kids to get guns and randomly shoot innocent victims,” she said. “My niece, Eva, lost her life protecting her students. It shouldn’t have to be like this: teachers, parents and students afraid to go to school or send their kids to school.”
In a post on Twitter, Mireles’ daughter described her mother as “the half that makes me whole.”
“You are so known by many now and I’m so happy that people know your name and that beautiful face of yours and they know what a hero looks like,” she wrote, adding: “My heart will forever be broken.”
Jose Manuel Flores Jr., 10
Jose's parents told CNN that the 10-year-old was helpful around the house and loved his younger siblings. “He was just very good with babies,” his mother said. His father told CNN that Jose loved baseball and video games and “was always full of energy.” A photo taken at school Tuesday shows him smiling and proudly holding a certificate to show he made the honor roll.
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A look at some of America's deadliest school shootings
Intro
Until the massacre at Colorado’s Columbine High School in 1999, the number of dead in U.S. school shootings tended to be in the single digits. Since then, the number of shootings that included schools and killed 10 or more people has mounted. The most recent two were both in Texas. In May 2022, an 18-year-old attacker killed 19 children and two adults at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. In May 2018, a 17-year-old killed 10 people at Santa Fe High School near Houston. Most of the victims were students.
Columbine High School, April 1999
COLUMBINE HIGH SCHOOL, April 1999: Two students killed 12 of their peers and one teacher at the school in Littleton, Colorado, and injured many others before killing themselves.
Red Lake High School, March 2005
RED LAKE HIGH SCHOOL, March 2005: A 16-year-old student killed his grandfather and the man's companion at their Minnesota home, then went to nearby Red Lake High School, where he killed five students, a teacher and a security guard before shooting himself.
Virginia Tech, April 2007
VIRGINIA TECH, April 2007: A 23-year-old student killed 32 people on the campus in Blacksburg, Virginia, in April 2007; more than two dozen others were wounded. The gunman then killed himself.
Sandy Hook Elementary School, December 2012
SANDY HOOK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, December 2012: A 19-year-old man killed his mother at their home in Newtown, Connecticut, then went to the nearby Sandy Hook Elementary School and killed 20 first graders and six educators. He took his own life.
Umpqua Community College, October 2015
UMPQUA COMMUNITY COLLEGE, October 2015: A man killed nine people at the school in Roseburg, Oregon, and wounded nine others, then killed himself.
Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, February 2018
MARJORY STONEMAN DOUGLAS HIGH SCHOOL, February 2018: An attack left 14 students and three staff members dead at the school in Parkland, Florida, and injured many others. The 20-year-old suspect was charged with murder.
Santa Fe High School, May 2018
SANTA FE HIGH SCHOOL, May 2018: A 17-year-old opened fire at a Houston-area high school, killing 10 people, most of them students, authorities said. The suspect has been charged with murder.
Robb Elementary School, May 2022
ROBB ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, May 2022: An 18-year-old gunman opened fire Tuesday at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, killing 19 children and two adults, officials said. The 18-year-old attacker was killed by law enforcement.
