Husband of teacher killed in Texas shooting dies of ‘broken heart’
The husband of one of two teachers killed during a mass shooting at a Texas elementary school, has died of a heart attack two days after the incident.
According to media reports, Joe Garcia died Thursday days after his wife was killed by at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas.
Irma Garcia was one of 21 people who were killed Tuesday by the 18-year-old gunman who walked into the school with a rifle and began shooting. Nineteen children and Garcia’s co-teacher, Eva Mireles, were also killed.
For the last five years, Irma, 46, had been co-teaching with Mireles, 44. Irma was on her 23rd year of teaching, having spent her entire career at Robb Elementary School. while Mireles had worked in the Uvalde school district for 17 years.
The deceased man’s death was first shared in a GoFundMe created by Garcia’s family. On the page, it a relative revealed that Joe died on Thursday morning ‘as a result of a medical emergency.’
“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 relative wrote.
Details of Irma’s bio on Uvalde school district’s website paints the picture of a woman who loved her husband and children.
A separate GoFundMe set up by John Martinez, a nephew of Irma, described the two as “high school sweethearts” who were “loved by many.”
The GoFundMe post, originally set up after Irma Garcia’s death and later updated, described her as “sweet, kind, loving.”
“She sacrificed herself protecting the kids in her classroom. She was a hero,” the post read.