The husband of Irma Garcia, one of two teachers killed during a mass shooting at a Texas elementary school, has died of a heart attack.
Joe Garcia died Thursday, just two days after his wife was killed when a gunman entered Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, his family informed.
Nineteen children and two teachers were killed in the massacre Tuesday. Joe and Irma Garcia were high school sweethearts and married for 24 years. They leave behind four children.
His death was first shared in a GoFundMe created by Garcia’s family. On the page, cousin Debra Garcia Austin wrote that Joe had died 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,’ Austin wrote.
‘My husband’s name is Joe Garcia. We have been married for 24 years and have four children,’ Garcia wrote.
‘I have my eldest Cristian son completing Marine boot camp and another son Jose attending Texas State University. My eldest daughter Lyliana will be a sophomore in high school, and my youngest Alysandra will be a 7th grader this year.’
Her webpage also noted that this was her 23rd year of teaching. She spent her entire teaching career at Robb Elementary School.
For the last five years, Irma, 46, had been co-teaching with Eva Mireles, 44, who was also killed in the massacre. Mireles had worked in the Uvalde school district for 17 years.
The two co-teachers died shielding their 9 and 10-year-old students.
In an emotional tribute shared on Facebook, Mireles’ daughter, Adalynn Ruiz, praised her mother, who ‘selflessly jumped in front of her students to save their lives.’
