Eva Mireles, a fourth grade teacher, was one of at least two teachers killed at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, Tuesday, her aunt has confirmed by phone to The New York Times.
Lydia Martinez Delgado told the Times that her niece died protecting her students.
On the Robb Elementary School website, Mireles is listed as a teacher for the last 17 years and says her husband is a Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District (UCISD) officer while her daughter is a college graduate.
"I love running, hiking, and now you might just see me riding a bike!" she wrote on her school profile page.
At least 19 children and two teachers died Tuesday when a shooter identified as Salvador Rolando Ramos entered Robb Elementary, which is 84 miles west of San Antonio, with possibly two armed weapons.
In a Facebook post on May 25, Mireles's daughter Adalynn Ruiz said she had "no words" to describe how she was feeling.
“I want everything back. I want you to come back to me mom. I miss you more than words can explain,” Ruiz wrote.
She said her mother had been a "hero" and "“selflessly jumped in front of her students to save their lives" during the attack.
“I will forever be so proud to be your daughter,” Ruiz wrote.
In a news briefing on May 24, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said it was believed that Ramos "abandoned his vehicle, then entered into the Robb Elementary School in Uvalde with a handgun, and he may have also had a rifle."
Ramos allegedly shot and killed his grandmother before going to the school.
Related: An age-by-age guide on how to talk to children about shootings
The shooting has leaders, from politics to sports, speaking out in outrage at the latest string of shootings in the country. It was on May 14, 2022, that 10 people were killed at a grocery store in Buffalo, New York.
Sen. Chris Murphy spoke on the Senate floor Tuesday hours after the Texas shooting, pleading with his colleagues to fix the gun laws in the country.
“What are we doing? Why are we here?” he asked. “Why are we here if not to solve a problem as existential as this?”
Golden State Warriors' coach Steve Kerr gave an emotional pre-game press conference Tuesday where he addressed the shooting.
“I’m tired," he said. "I am so tired of getting up here and offering condolences to the devastated families that are out there. I am so tired of the, excuse, I am sorry, I am tired of the moments of silence. Enough!”
And President Biden gave a televised speech from the White House Tuesday night, telling the American people that he was "sick and tired" of gun violence.
“We have to act, and don’t tell me we can’t have an impact on this carnage,” Biden said. “As a nation we have to ask when in God’s name are we going to stand up to the gun lobby? When in God’s name will we do what we all know in our gut needs to be done?”
