The husband of an elementary school teacher slain during the recent shooting in Uvalde, Texas, died of a heart attack Thursday. The couple had been married for 24 years.
“Family members tell FOX 26 Joe Garcia, the husband of Irma Garcia, died Thursday – just two days after his wife was tragically killed when a gunman entered Robb Elementary School in Uvalde and opened fire,” Fox 4 reported.
Reporter Matthew Seedorff said the couple, who were described as high school sweethearts, had four children and that “Irma was shot and killed Tuesday trying to protect her 4th grade class.”
BREAKING: Family members tell me Joe Garcia, the husband of Uvalde teacher Irma Garcia, just died of a heart attack. The couple had been married 24 years and has 4 children. Irma was shot and killed Tuesday trying to protect her 4th grade class. #breaking #Uvalde pic.twitter.com/X9CrD3ppXS
— Matthew Seedorff (@MattSeedorff) May 26, 2022
She was one of two instructors and 19 students killed during the attack.
Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX) said Tuesday of the shooting that Texans were grieving for the victims and residents of Uvalde.
“We thank the courageous first responders who worked to finally secure Robb Elementary School. I have instructed the Texas Department of Public Safety and the Texas Rangers to work with local law enforcement to fully investigate this crime,” he added.
Texans are grieving for the victims of this senseless crime & for the community of Uvalde.
Cecilia & I mourn this horrific loss & urge all Texans to come together.
I've instructed @TxDPS & Texas Rangers to work with local law enforcement to fully investigate this crime. pic.twitter.com/Yjwi8tDT1v
— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) May 24, 2022
On Wednesday, Abbott indicated the alleged attacker, Salvador Ramos, made three social media posts 30 minutes prior to opening fire at Robb Elementary School.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott says the Uvalde shooter made three facebook posts in the 30 minutes before yesterday's attack:
– "I'm going to shoot my grandmother."
– "I shot my grandmother."
– "I'm going to shoot an elementary school."
— Anders Hagstrom (@Hagstrom_Anders) May 25, 2022
Abbott also noted, “The first thing that happened was, the gunman shot his grandmother in the face. She then contacted police.”
A GoFundMe page created Wednesday described Irma Garcia as a “wonderful person” who loved her classroom children:
Please donate anything you can to help her family. 100% of the proceeds will go to the Garcia family for various expenses. Thank you and God bless.
I am equally [devastated] to report Irma’s husband Joe has tragically passed away this morning (5/26/2022) as a result of a medical emergency. Please keep our family in your thoughts and prayers.
“I truly believe Joe died of a broken heart and losing the love of his life of more than 30 years was too much to bear,” the post concluded.
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