The widow of a Texas elementary school teacher killed in a shooting died of a heart attack just days after his wife was killed.
Joe Garcia, Irma Garcia’s husband, suffered a fatal heart attack on Thursday, two days after his wife was killed in a mass shooting at Rob Elementary School in Uwalde, Texas, the couple’s nephew John Martinez and a close family friend confirmed.
The couple, who had known each other since eighth grade, were due to celebrate their 25th anniversary this year, the family said.
Irma Garcia has been a fourth-grade teacher at the school for 23 years, according to the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District website.
Crosses with the names of victims of school shootings are depicted in a memorial in front of Rob’s primary school after a gunman killed nineteen children and two teachers in Uwalde, USA, on May 26, 2022.
Marco Bello / Reuters
“I love having a barbecue with my husband, listening to music and cruising around the countryside to Concan,” Garcia seems to have written on the school’s website.
Irma Garcia also co-taught with Eva Mireles, the other teacher killed in the attack, in the same classroom for five years.
The two teachers were among 19 other children, mostly third- and fourth-graders, who were fatally shot Tuesday when suspected shooter Salvador Ramos opened fire in a classroom.
Irma Garcia, a 4th grade teacher at Rob Elementary School, was killed in a shooting at a school on May 24, 2022 in Uwalde, Texas.
Uvalde CISD
Ramos is said to have used an AR-15-style rifle to carry out the second worst school shooting in US history, just days after turning 18 and buying two firearms. Another 17 people, including three law enforcement officers, were injured.
Ramos was killed after an exchange of gunfire with law enforcement officials at the school.
Alondra Vale of ABC News contributed to this report.
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