As two sisters watched the news unfold of the school shooting in Texas, they realized that their cousin was in the school. She was shot, but survived. Then they discovered that three distant cousins were killed.
And then, in a twist that speaks to just how close-knit this small town is, they realized their family knows the shooter's family, too.
“My tio (uncle) went to school with the shooter’s grandmother,” Alexandria told TODAY Parents, adding that her cousin’s girlfriend also discovered she’s related to the shooter. “My cousin ... she had no idea. It is just so crazy — everything is in the family. We’re finding out more and more as we go.”
Two days after a gunman killed 19 children and two teachers inside a fourth grade classroom at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, sisters Deandra, 19, and Alexandria, 17, knelt in front of 21 white crosses — one for every victim. They wrote messages of hope as they wiped away tears and leaned on one another for comfort.
The sisters asked that their last names be omitted to protect their family members' privacy.
"All our cousins, tios (uncles), tias (aunts), third cousins and second cousins live here," Deandra told TODAY Parents.
One cousin was shot in the arm five times and needed surgery. "She’s recovered and going to need another surgery sooner or later to get the mobility back in her arm,” Alexandria told TODAY.
Three children of their third cousins didn't make it.
Alexandria pointed to three white crosses — adorned with messages of love and mourning, along with flowers and stuffed animals — for her distant cousins who were shot and killed:
Amerie Jo Garza, 10 years old.
Tess Marie Mata, 10 years old.
Eliahana Cruz Torres, 10 years old.
"It hit hard," Alexandria said. "It puts a dent in our hearts. These poor babies lost their lives."
The sisters first heard about the school shooting from their mother, when relatives called and told her to turn on the news. At first they assumed it was the high school and started texting their teenage relatives in Uvalde.
"It was the elementary school — which was even worse,” Alexandria said.
The pair, along with their two friends, Evette, 20, and Carla, 19, drove from San Antonio to Uvalde to mourn with each other, with their families, and with the community — and the world — as a whole.
The friends also asked that their last names be omitted.
“We all have little brothers, we all have little sisters. It shouldn’t have happened. They’re innocent babies," Carla told TODAY Parents.
"Even strangers are hurting," she added.
The friends' support means a lot to the sisters, they both said.
All four of the girls said they had to fight back tears during the hour-long drive from San Antonio to Uvalde. They tried to steel themselves, and each other, for the heartache to come.
"Me and my sister were just heavy, because when we lost our grandparents we didn't come to Uvalde for a while," Alexandria said. "They were the ones who really kept us together. So coming into Uvalde — we had to prepare ourselves."
That the sisters are related to or know so many who have been impacted by the shooting is a reminder of how close-knit the Uvalde community of around 16,000 truly is.
Not only did Deandra and Alexandria lose cousins in the shooting — they know someone who is related to the 18-year-old shooter and his grandmother. The gunman had been living with his grandmother since March, and authorities say he shot her in the face before the shooting at Robb Elementary.
The four friends said their hearts are with the victims, the families, and with the young survivors who will have to live with their memories.
"Having our cousins say that they saw the shooting and they witnessed it, that hits us hard too," Alexandria said. "Now they're going to have to live with what they saw and they're going to be scared to go back to school. It won't matter what school they go to they're going to have to live with that fear."
It is a fear, the girls said, they know all too well as students in the United States.
"We live with that fear in our heart knowing that a shooting can happen anywhere," Alexandria said.
"When we were in elementary school we heard of shootings and had to practice lockdowns," Carla added.
"It was scary then too, even during those practices," Alexandria said.
They all said they believe the shooting in Uvalde will not be the last, unless the laws get changed.
"Everyone says 'don't make this political,' but how could you not?" Carla added. "When you've passed a law where you don't have to have a license to carry a gun now in Texas? Where you're able to buy a gun at 18?"
The shooter in Uvalde bought two AR-15-style weapons and several hundred rounds of ammunition within a few days of his 18th birthday, authorities said.
“The government should want to do better and keep these kids safe,” Evette told TODAY Parents.
"This is political," Evette said. "That law in Texas never should have been passed," referring to a law signed by Texas Governor Greg Abbott last year that made it legal for people to carry handguns without a license.
"Now I'm scared because my niece starts school in August, and you never know," Alexandria explained. "Nothing has been done. My niece is so excited to go, but..."
"Exactly," Carla said. "This wasn't the first shooting, it won't be the last if nothing has done. And it has been like that — there are so many shootings."
"Nothing has been done," Alexandria added. "Nothing."
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