Police named a 44-year-old teacher as the first victim of the Texas elementary school mass shooting that left 21 people dead, including 19 students, while several others were seriously wounded. Eva Mireles, a special education teacher at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, was confirmed to have died by relatives Tuesday night.
Mireles was a fourth-grade teacher who was killed along with 20 others, when Salvador Ramos, an 18-year-old, opened fire inside the Texas elementary school on Tuesday before being shot dead by cops. Mireles is among the two adults killed in the massacre. according to University Health San Antonio, a 66-year-old lady is in critical condition.
Died on Duty
According to police, Mireles was in the classroom when Ramos, 18, entered and started firing. She was killed while saving a fourth-grader and died on the scene. Mireles worked for the Uvalde school district for 17 years the teacher's aunt Lydia Martinez Delgado said.
"(G)etting different stories from different news stations... and Governor so still waiting for all facts," Martinez Delgado shared on Facebook. "One thing that's certain is that my beautiful niece did not survive this coward's actions."
Ironically, Mireles was married to a cop. Her husband, Ruben Ruiz, 43, is with the local police department and the couple has a college-age daughter.
According to reports, Ruiz was about to leave for the school after he received news of a mass shooting. However, it was too late as Mireles became the first victim of Ramos.
"Her husband is a police officer and they are just very nice people. We are in shock something like this would happen. This is a quiet community," a neighbor of Mireles told the New York Post.
In fact, Ruiz used to conduct regular active shooter drills for the schools - most recently at the end of March.
Tragic Death
According to her bio page on the school district's website, Mireles was an expert in handling special students. She enjoyed running and hiking, and joked on the website that she might also be seen riding a bike.
Mireles was also a pet lover, as she had three dogs: Callie, Kane and Koda.
"My daughter's beautiful teacher was the teacher who was killed in Uvalde, TX," one parent wrote on Twitter about Mireles' death.
"She was a beautiful person & dedicated teacher. She believed in Gabby & went above & beyond to teach her as you can see below. There are no words."
A neighbor told the Post that Mireles "was just a sweetheart." "It's a tragedy that this happened to a person like this," said the neighbor, who did not want to be identified.
"She was the sweetest person and she would take her cute dogs out on walks and she would say, 'Hi.'
It is not known if Ramos knew any of the victims. Police have launched an investigation but are still unclear about the motive behind the shooting.
A chilling video that has emerged on social media shows Ramos inside the compound of Robb Elementary School with a gun in his hand. Wearing body armor and equipped with arms, Ramos can be seen approaching one of the doors of the school building before he opens fire on the students and teachers inside the building.
Ramos is believed to have abandoned his car outside the school and entered the school grounds with a handgun and possibly a rifle. He was shot dead on the scene by a hero Border Patrol agent who ran into the school with a tactical support team and killed him while he was barricaded inside and was exchanging gunfire with other police officers.
