The nephew of a teacher killed in the Uvalde shooting says "sweet and lovely" Meghan Markle called his grieving family to share her condolences.
John Martinez - the nephew of slain teacher Irma Garcia - said the Duchess of Sussex called his mum to "check on the family" as they come to terms with the death of his beloved aunt.
He wrote on Twitter : "The way my mom just got off the phone with Meghan Markle…the Duchess, she’s so sweet and lovely, she really went out of her way to check on the family, it means so much."
Irma, 48, was gunned down alongside fellow teacher Eva Mireles, 44, and 19 primary-school aged students on Tuesday when crazed gunman Salvador Ramos opened fire in a classroom.
Eva's husband Joe - full name Jose Antonio - died two days later from a heart attack which his family put down to the grief of losing his wife of 24 years.
One of the last things the 50-year-old dad-of-four did was lay flowers at a memorial for the victims in the square outside the town’s courthouse.
But when he returned home he sat down at the family table and suddenly collapsed, his nephew John told USAToday.
He said: "What happened was my Uncle Joe went to go leave flowers for my Tia (Aunt) Irma, his wife, and whenever he got back, he sat down at the kitchen table with his entire family, and after 3 minutes, he just fell over.
"I'm told my mom was giving him chest compressions. It happened around 10 o'clock. I know my little brother was there."
After he collapsed, paramedics rushed him to Uvalde Memorial Hospital but he couldn't be saved, John added.
In another Tweet, John wrote: "The pain doesn't stop.
"My Tia Irma’s husband Joe Garcia has passed away due to grief, I truly am at a loss for words for how we are all feeling, PLEASE PRAY FOR OUR FAMILY, God have mercy on us, this isn’t easy."
Another gun-related tragedy struck the US last week when three pensioners were killed while attending a potluck dinner at an Alabama church.
Reports say a hero parishioner held down the 70-year-old shooter who killed the OAPs at St Stephen's Episcopal Church in Vestavia Hills on Thursday.
Walter Rainey, 84, died at the scene while Sarah Yeager, 75, and another 84-year-old woman whose family didn't want her to be identified, both died later in hospital.
The gunman was described as an "occasional" attendee of the church and Police Captain Shane Ware said that "the person that subdued the suspect in my opinion is a hero."
He stated that the person's actions were "extremely critical in saving lives."
District Attorney Danny Carr identified the suspect as Robert Findlay Smith and he is being held without bail on charges of capital murder of two or more persons.
This morning it emerged a 15-year-old has been killed and several others injured following a shooting in Washington DC.
A police officer was also shot and injured when gunfire broke out at a street event in Northwest DC on Sunday evening (June 19).
DC police Chief Robert Contee said that three civilians, two adults, one juvenile and one police officer had been shot during the incident.
The injured police officer was transported to hospital in a "stable condition", DC Police Union said on Twitter.
He had sustained a gunshot wound to the leg, Chief Contee said.
But US lawmakers remain far apart on the most important gun safety issues now under debate in Congress, a Republican senator said on Sunday, casting doubts on hopes that the United States could pass the first federal gun legislation in decades.
"The issue that we have here is that we don't have a bill," Utah Republican Senator Mike Lee told Fox News Sunday.
He added: "I kept asking to see text and it became apparent that they didn't have a bill and in fact they don't have a deal at all."
Lawmakers have been under pressure to reduce gun violence after two mass shootings last month at a grocery store in Buffalo, New York, and the elementary school in Uvalde, Texas.
