The summer vacation was supposed to start on Friday.
In two months, Xavier Lopez would have joined the
5th grade –
the equivalent, in the United States, of CM2.
"He couldn't wait to go to college," his mother told the Washington Post.
But on Tuesday, the 10-year-old boy was brutally killed, along with eighteen other classmates and two of their teachers, in their classroom at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas.
Xavier Lopez is one of the first victims identified, but other faces, mostly children aged 7 to 10, accompany his portrait in the tributes paid on social networks and on American television channels in special editions.
Photos showing, for some, the same codes: those of smiling children displaying a colorful certificate to reward their good results.
They were given to them this very Tuesday morning, just hours before the tragedy.
10-year-old Xavier Lopez has now been identified as another victim in the Robb Elementary shooting in Uvalde.
His mom snapped this photo of him at an honor roll ceremony only a few hours before tragedy.
pic.twitter.com/d64pBFwEVZ
— Nora Neus (@noraneus) May 25, 2022
Jayce Carmelo Luevanos and his cousin Jailah Nicole Silguero are among the students who died in the shooting, their family confirmed on Facebook.
“Fly high my angels”, wrote Veronica Luevanos, mother of Jailah and aunt of Jayce, in the caption of a photo montage paying tribute to the two young victims of Salvador Ramos, alleged perpetrator.
"God knows why he wanted to bring them back to him so soon," said their uncle, in this family already bereaved the previous week by the death of Jayce and Jailah's grandfather.
Fly high my angels 😭💔🕊🕊 We're going to miss yall so much😭😭😭
Posted by Veronica Luevanos on Tuesday, May 24, 2022
Felicia Martinez mourns her son.
Xavier Lopez "was funny and never serious," she describes to the Washington Post, adding that she "would never forget that smile" which "always lifted people's spirits."
In addition to being studious, the boy was a great enthusiast.
“He loved to dance.
Imagine!
He was even dancing full of sweat, he didn't care, ”assures his uncle Benito Martinez to the Fox News news channel.
A kitty was launched by a member of this Hispanic family, like the majority of those hit hard by the tragedy on Tuesday.
Ten-year-old Xavier Lopez was one of the 19 students who died in Tuesday's school shooting in #Uvalde, Texas.
His cousin said his mom was at his awards ceremony hours before the shooting, not knowing it would be the last time she would see him alive.
https://t.co/lgbe4mvp8D pic.twitter.com/iDZoLaPsif
— ABC7 Eyewitness News (@ABC7) May 25, 2022
Same age, same joie de vivre, Amerie Jo Garza appears all smiles on all the photos released.
She was in the same classroom when the assailant burst in.
“You are going to die” would have launched Salvador Ramos, according to comments reported by his grandmother to the Daily Beast
.
Berlinda Irene Arreola explains that her granddaughter would have tried to call 911, the American emergency number.
Uziyah Garcia, also 10 years old, was “the nicest little boy I have ever known”, testifies his grandfather Manny Renfro at the microphone of the American channel CNN.
He was "full of life" and "loved everything with wheels, as well as video games", adds his uncle Mitch Renfro.
Death of two teachers
In their last moments, these schoolchildren could hope to be saved by their teachers.
Irma Garcia, 46, "sacrificed herself trying to protect children," said John, a Texas resident who presents himself as one of his nephews, on social media.
“She died a heroine,” he concludes.
The latter's colleague, Eva Mireles, was three years younger.
Identified among the first victims, she would also have tried to come between the killer and his students, according to his aunt who confides in the New York Times
.
“She was a beautiful person and a dedicated teacher,” pays tribute to the mother of a former student on Twitter.
"There are no words," she concludes, in a sentiment clearly shared by many Americans.
My daughter's beautiful teacher was the teacher who was killed in Uvalde, TX.
Eva (Ms Mireles) taught Gabby in elementary school.
She was a beautiful person & dedicated teacher.
She believed in Gabby & went above & beyond to teach her as you can see below.
There are no words.
pic.twitter.com/qMlVoVEUrY
— Audrey (@audreymg0928) May 24, 2022