Uvalde, Texas
CNN
—
Adrian Alonzo says he got used to Uvalde schools being in lockdown, usually because of issues related to immigration, in this small town close to the southern border. But he realized that Tuesday’s alert was different when he got a notice that school buses would not be running that day.
As he went to pick up his son, Aiden, from a school near Robb Elementary, he saw the heavy police presence and panicked.
“I can’t explain the joy I had when I saw my son walk out of those doors, and I finally had him. But as a parent, I wanted to squeeze him right there, but I wanted to get him out because I didn’t want him to see all that,” Alonzo said during an interview outside his Uvalde home.
His son was safe, but he soon learned that his niece, Ellie Garcia, was still unaccounted for.
He called his sister-in-law Jennifer, Ellie’s mother, and told her that he would check the nearby SSGT Willie de Leon Civic Center, where officials were taking students to reunite with their families.
When he got there, it was already around 4 p.m. and almost empty.
“The school officials tell me that there’s no more children here. They’ve all been picked up.
“‘Do you have a list? Do you have a list of the students that were here?’” Alonzo remembered frantically asking.
“That school official, I could see it in her eyes and her eyes became glassy and teary, and she said, ‘Sir, they’ll make a statement soon.’”
“”But I’m missing my niece. She’s not here,’” he recalled pleading.
“‘They’ll make a statement soon,’” he remembered her replying simply. He knew then that something was terribly wrong.
Alonzo took his son home and later saw on social media that Eva Mireles, Ellie’s teacher, was dead.
“In my mind, I tried to stay optimistic, but the reality of it was sinking in at that time,” he said. “It wasn’t until my wife told me that they were taking DNA swabs from all the parents. … Why else would they need DNA swabs?”
An hour later, his wife called to tell him that Ellie was among the murdered children at Robb Elementary’s shooting massacre.
“By far the worst day of my life. And I’ll never forget that day. I can replay those hours so vividly in my mind and it’s just etched in my mind,” Alonzo said.
Ellie Garcia and her uncle Adrian were very close. He, his wife and their son – Aiden, Ellie’s cousin – picked Ellie up for church most Sundays. Alonzo describes her as a happy kid who loved her family and friends, her dog Rocco, TikTok dances and basketball.
She was excited for her 10th birthday coming up on June 4. She will now never reach those magical double digits. Her family will bury her two days later on June 6.
Ellie’s uncle became understandably emotional explaining that cold reality.
Photos: Mass shooting at Texas elementary school
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A choir from The Light of the World Church sings songs to support the families who lost loved ones in the Robb Elementary School shooting, in Uvalde, Texas, on Friday, May 27.
Photos: Mass shooting at Texas elementary school
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Mourners gather in the main plaza in Uvalde to express their grief and support, on Saturday, May 28.
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The Light of the World Church offers prayers of support in their temple for the families impacted by the Robb Elementary School shooting, on Saturday.
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Vanessa Palacios, 30, left, and Melissa García, 26, write the names of those who died in the Robb Elementary School shooting on their storefront, Cut Loose Hair Emporium, in Uvalde, on Friday, May 27.
the shooter’s movements during a news conference on Friday. In all, 80 minutes passed between when officers were first called to the school at 11:30 a.m. Tuesday to when a tactical team entered locked classrooms and killed the gunman at 12:50 p.m., McCraw said.” class=”gallery-image__dam-img”/>Photos: Mass shooting at Texas elementary school
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the young victims of the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, grieve her loss in front of a cross bearing her name on Thursday, May 26. “These children should be remembered for all the right reasons,” a family member said.” class=”gallery-image__dam-img”/>Photos: Mass shooting at Texas elementary school
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Photos: Mass shooting at Texas elementary school
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Tyler Garcia raises up a sign that says “#UvaldeStrong” during a car wash and food sale Thursday that was raising money for the families of those who lost loved ones in the shooting.
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Congregants at St. Philip’s Episcopal Church light candles in Uvalde to remember the shooting victims on Thursday.
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Copies of the Uvalde Leader-News sit on stands at a market on Thursday.
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Crosses bear the names of shooting victims on Thursday.
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People in Uvalde light candles during a memorial for the shooting victims on Wednesday, May 25.
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A prayer vigil is held in Uvalde on Wednesday.
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An officer with the Texas Highway Patrol prays with a community member before taking his flowers to the growing memorial in front of Robb Elementary School on Wednesday.
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From left, Michael Cavasos, Brenda Perez and Eduardo Galindo are seen in the foreground as they wait in line to donate blood in Uvalde on Wednesday. Galindo, who lives in Uvalde, said: “When it hits you in your hometown, you wake up and say, ‘Wow.’ … We have to be here and show support for these families right now.” Approximately 200 people donated blood to South Texas Blood and Tissue, who will deliver the units to surrounding area hospitals after they have been processed.
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People attend Mass at the Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Uvalde on Wednesday.
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Flowers are seen at the memorial in front of the school on Wednesday.
confronted Gov. Greg Abbott and other officials during a news conference Wednesday about the shooting. “The time to stop the next shooting is right now and you are doing nothing,” O’Rourke told Abbott. The two will face off in November’s election.” class=”gallery-image__dam-img”/>Photos: Mass shooting at Texas elementary school
Veronica G. Cardenas/Reuters
Photos: Mass shooting at Texas elementary school
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Law enforcement vehicles are lined up outside the school on Wednesday.
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People pray outside the SSGT Willie de Leon Civic Center in Uvalde on Tuesday night. The civic center is where students were transported after the shooting.
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Kladys Castellón prays during a vigil that was held in Uvalde on Tuesday.
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Law enforcement officials work the scene after the shooting on Tuesday.
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Dario Lopez-Mills/AP
People comfort each other outside the civic center in Uvalde.
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Pete Luna/Uvalde Leader-News
Students run to safety after law enforcement officers helped them escape from a window at the school on Tuesday.
Photos: Mass shooting at Texas elementary school
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Law enforcement personnel run near the scene of the shooting on Tuesday. US Customs and Border Protection, which is the largest law enforcement agency in the area, assisted with the response.
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People react outside the Uvalde civic center on Tuesday.
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A Texas state trooper walks outside the school on Tuesday.
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A woman reacts Tuesday outside of the civic center in Uvalde.
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A child gets on a school bus Tuesday under the watch of law enforcement. Robb Elementary teaches second through fourth grades and had 535 students in the 2020-21 school year, according to state data. About 90% of students are Hispanic and about 81% are economically disadvantaged, the data shows. Thursday was set to be the last day of school before the summer break.
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Marco Bello/Reuters
People react outside the civic center in Uvalde. This marks at least the 30th shooting at a K-12 school in 2022.
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Dario Lopez-Mills/AP
Law enforcement officials and other first responders gather outside the school following Tuesday’s shooting.
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A woman cries and hugs a young girl while on the phone outside the civic center in Uvalde.
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Marco Bello/Reuters
Another child gets on a bus to leave the school.
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A woman cries as she leaves the civic center.
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Law enforcement officials stand outside the school following the shooting. The FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives have been assisting local police with the investigation.
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People sit on the curb outside of the school as state troopers guard the area Tuesday.
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Police walk near the school following the shooting.
Photos: Mass shooting at Texas elementary school
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A woman and a child leave the Uvalde civic center on Tuesday.
“Those days will be here, and I just pray that God gives our family comfort and the strength to make it through that weekend,” he said.
Alonzo said that he bonded with his niece over their faith, which is clearly carrying him through this unimaginable tragedy.
He even volunteered that he forgives the gunman who killed his niece, 18 other children, and 2 adults in cold blood.
“I forgive him. As powerful as that, I forgive him,” Alonzo said.
When pressed on how he could get to the place where he forgives the shooter only days after the massacre and even before Ellie was buried, he cited Scripture.
“The Bible says in Ephesians 4 that we must forgive one another, just as God has forgiven. And I hold no hatred toward him,” Alonzo said.
To be sure, he is very angry.
“I am filled with anger, but I feel no hatred towards him,” he said calmly.
He is also angry at any law enforcement officials who may have made errors in waiting so long before going into his niece’s classroom.
“She could have been saved. She might have been injured. We don’t know if she was alive within those, what was it, 70 minutes, I think. We don’t know if she was alive. I can only hope that she felt no pain and I hope it was quick and she did not suffer. Who knows? Maybe she wouldn’t have been a survivor. But I feel within those minutes, hour, we would not have 19 children,” he said, adding that he also forgives anyone in law enforcement who made any mistakes.
Alonzo is a hunter and a gun owner. He says that won’t change.
But he does not think assault weapons like the one the shooter bought legally in Texas should be allowed.
“Do I believe that our guns should be taken away from civilians? No, I’m against that, but I am for the ban of AR-15 assault rifles. No civilian should have that kind of rifle, only military and police. Those are weapons of war, and civilians do not need weapons of war,” Alonzo said. “Collectively, I think a lot can be done, not only gun laws, but also in social media algorithms, something. Let’s say the algorithm had caught those words and a notification would’ve been sent to authorities, ‘Hey, this user is saying he’s going to shoot the school.’ They would’ve gotten into that real quick and possibly, maybe, then stopped it.”
He hopes politicians can put their differences aside and find solutions, but like most Americans, he is skeptical.
For now, he is focused on his family – helping his son, Ellie’s cousin, cope. He is helping Ellie’s parents – his sister-in-law and brother-in-law – with errands and whatever else they need. And he is speaking out about his beautiful niece.
“We were thankful to have Ellie for the nine years of her life with us. We will never forget her,” Alonzo said. “She will always be a part of this family, even in her death.”
