“A little girl was covered in blood from head to toe. I thought she was hurt, I asked her what was wrong. She said she was fine – she was hysterical, saying that her best friend was shot, that her best friend was killed, she was not breathing, “Garza told CNN’s Anderson Cooper on Wednesday.
“I asked the little girl for her name and … she told Ameri,” he said, lowering his head and crying.
That’s how Garza learned that his daughter, Ameri Joe Garza, 10, was fatally shot at Uwalde Elementary School in Texas, the deadliest school shooting in the United States in nearly a decade. An armed man barricaded himself in a fourth-grade classroom, killing 19 children and two teachers.
Garza was frightened as he rushed to school, but did not know where his daughter was.
Ameri was 10 years old about two weeks before the attack. Her family celebrated her birthday with dinner and gave her a cell phone, her first. Her classmates told Garza that she was trying to call 911 on the phone during the attack.
“She’s wanted a phone for so long, and we finally found it for her. She was just trying to call the authorities, and I guess he just shot her, “Garza said, holding a photo of Ameri taken when she took an honorary role at school.
Garza told his agonizing story between sobs as Cooper listened and placed his left hand on Garza’s shoulder.
“How do you look at this girl and just shoot her?” Garza continued, embracing the photo. “Oh, my baby. How do you shoot my baby?”
Her little brother keeps asking where he is
Garza described his daughter as a sweet, creative child who listens to her parents and has never had problems at school.
Ameri was afraid of strangers – and hurried to lock the door when her father went out to pump gas.
“This is literally her biggest fear,” Garza said.
She was the big sister of a 3-year-old brother who begged her for her every morning, but she doesn’t fully understand why he will never see her again.
“We informed him that his sister was already with God. And that she will no longer be with us, “Garza said. “He just cried … he’s 3 years old. It’s emotional for him to even handle it.”
Hours after the shooting, Garza posted a message on Facebook about his little girl.
“My little love is now flying high with the angels above. Please don’t take a second for granted. Embrace your family. Tell them you love them,” he wrote. “I love you, Amery Joe. Take care of your little brother for me.”
Garza wants people to remember his daughter as a sweet child
Robb elementary students celebrated the last school week with themed dress days.
Tuesday’s theme was “Relaxed and sophisticated” and teachers encouraged the children to come dressed in nice clothes and show off fun shoes.
But what began as a day of fun suddenly turned into a horrific carnage.
The 18-year-old shooter had been at odds with authorities for about half an hour before police stormed the classroom and killed him, said Tony Gonzalez, a U.S. envoy whose area includes Uwalde.
It was the deadliest shooting at a K-12 school in the United States since 2012, killing 26 children and adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newton, Connecticut.
Garza said he wanted people to remember Ameri as a good kid who tried to do the right thing to the end.
“She was just trying to call the cops, that’s all,” he said. “I just want people to know that she died trying to save her classmates. She just wanted to save everyone.
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