Eva Mireles has been identified as the teacher who was killed in the Uvalde Texas school shooting
(Picture: Handout)A primary school teacher killed in the Texas school shooting was trying to protect her students as the gunman opened fire, her relatives have said.
Eva Mireles, 44, was on Tuesday named as one of the 21 victims of the massacre at the Robb Elementary school in the town of Uvalde.
The gunman was identified by authorities as 18-year-old Salvador Ramos. He is said to have entered the school with a handgun and an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle before “horrifically, incomprehensibly” opening fire, Texas Governor Greg Abbott said.
Her aunt Lydia Martinez Delgado told the New York Times she had died while attempting to protect her students. She described Mrs Mireles as “very loved” and the “fun of the party”.
Mrs Mireles’ profile on the school’s website said she had worked as a teacher for 17 years and described her as having one daughter who had recently graduated.
“I have a supportive, fun, and loving family, which includes a UCISD officer (Ruiz), college graduate daughter (Adalynn), and 3 furry friends(Callie, Kane,& Koda). I love running, hiking, and now you just might see me riding a bike,” it read.
Ms Delgado said she was “furious” that school shootings continued to be a regular occurrence in the US.
“These children are innocent. Rifles should not be easily available to all. This is my hometown, a small community of less than 20,000,” she told the newspaper.
“I never imagined this would happen to especially loved ones ... All we can do is pray hard for our country, state, schools, and especially the families of all.”
Amber Ybarra, a 34-year-old relative of Mrs Mireles, said she was an “adventurous” person.
“I would definitely say those wonderful things about her. She is definitely going to be very missed,” she added.
Elsewhere Lisa Garza, 54, of Arlington, Texas, mourned the death of her cousin, Xavier Javier Lopez, who had been eagerly awaiting a summer of swimming.
"He was just a loving 10-year-old little boy, just enjoying life, not knowing that this tragedy was going to happen today," she told the Associated Press.
Nine-year-old Uziyah Garcia, a student in fourth-grade, was named as a victim of the shooting by his aunt Nikki Cross. Ten-year-olds Rojelio Torres, Amerie Jo Garza and Annabell Guadalupe Rodriguez also died in the attack, The New York Post reported.
The attack came just 10 days after a deadly, racist rampage at a Buffalo, New York, supermarket claimed the lives of 10 people.
The suspect, 18, drove more than 320km to carry out what is believed to be a racially motivated attack. Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown said that the suspect had intended to take “as many black lives as possible”.
