Video has surfacedfrom Thursday showingJoe Garcia, the grieving widower of Texas school shooting victimIrma Garcia, laying flowers at a memorial site for his wife mere hours before his own death.
PEOPLE was on the phone with John Martinez, Joe and Irma’s nephew, when he learned of his uncle’s death.
The couple had been married 24 years before Irma’s murder Tuesday morning,at the hands of an 18-year-old gunmanwho walked intoRobb Elementary Schoolin Uvalde, Tx., with an assault rifle he’d recently purchased and opened fire in a classroom.
Irma, 46, and another teacher,Eva Mireles, were killed,as were 19 of their students.
Irma and Joe Garcia.Go Fund Me
Irma — a Robb Elementary School teacher for 23 years — first met Joe in eighth grade, and the two became high school sweethearts, Martinez said.
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Joe places a bouquet of red roses in a vase at the cross bearing his wife’s name and walks away. The pain on his face is visible; Joe can be seen towards the end of the footage taking in a deep breath and slowly exhaling.
It was unclear how long after visiting the memorial Joe died.
Martinez, 21, told PEOPLE on Thursday he believes Joe, 50, died “of abroken heart.”
Martinez was told his uncle may have died from cardiac arrest, noting that chest compressions were performed on Joe in an effort to revive him.
The couple, he tells PEOPLE, had four children together.
When the gunman entered her classroom with a gun, Irma gave her life trying to save the children she loved like her own.
Irma Garcia.GoFundMe
“She died a hero trying to protect her students,” says Martinez, adding one of the 19 children killed in Tuesday’s shooting was found dead in her arms. “She was a mom to them as well.”
Adds Martinez: “She was a light in every room. She always had joy in her. She was a light to the world. I just really do want her to be remembered as someone who put her life on the line, to the very last moment. She sacrificed herself.”
According to her school profile, she loved to barbecue with Joe, and Martinez tells PEOPLE she loved classic rock.
Irma Rodriguez, John Martinez.Courtesy John Martinez
A GoFundMe campaignlaunched to help cover the couple’s funeral expenses had surpassed the $2 million mark Friday morning.
Prior to the massacre at the school, the shootershot his grandmother in the face; the woman has so far survived her injuries.
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All the fatalities took place inside one classroom, authorities have said.
A responding off-duty U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agent killed the suspect. A motive for the murders has not been released.
Police said at a Tuesday press conference they believethe shooter acted alone.
All of the childrenkilled were in the second, third, and fourth grades, police have said.
source: people.com
