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At least 3 of the children killed in the Texas elementary school shooting earned honor roll certificates that morning

Rebecca Cohen   

At least 3 of the children killed in the Texas elementary school shooting earned honor roll certificates that morning
LifeInternational2 min read
  • Three of the victims of the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, earned honor roll awards that morning.
  • One of their mothers accompanied her son to the ceremony. She said she had no idea that would be the last time she saw him.

At least three fourth-graders who were killed in the Texas elementary school shooting on Tuesday were celebrated at an honor roll ceremony just hours before the massacre.

Xavier Lopez, Amerie Jo Garza, and Jose Flores were among the students awarded for high marks at Tuesday's ceremony at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas.

They were also among the at least 19 children and two teachers who were killed when an 18-year-old gunman opened fire at the school Tuesday afternoon.

Lopez was joined by his mother, Felicha Martinez, at the ceremony, where Lopez was awarded a certificate for making the honor roll.

Martinez told the Washington Post that she snapped a photo of her Lopez holding his honor roll certificate and told him she was proud and she loved him. She then hugged him goodbye, unaware that would be her last moment with him.

Lopez was the first student to be identified, with his family confirming his death, KSAT News reported.

Martinez told the Washington Post her son "really couldn't wait to go to middle school," and he was counting the days before he would graduate and attend Flores Middle School. Lopez had just two days left of fourth grade.

"He was funny, never serious and his smile," Martinez told The Post. "That smile I will never forget. It would always cheer anyone up."

She added that her son "was so full of life" and enjoyed giggling and dancing in the house with his brothers. At school, he loved soccer and baseball, but his favorite subject was art.

"He loved any activity in which he could be creative and especially get to draw," Martinez told the Post.

Garza is being hailed as a "hero" since her grandmother told the Daily Beast she was shot while trying to call 911.

"So the gunman went in and he told the children, 'You're going to die,'" the grandmother said. "And she had her phone and she called 911. And instead of grabbing it and breaking it or taking it from her, he shot her."

Garza's grandmother snapped a photo of her smiling at the ceremony just hours before she died, according to the Daily Beast.

Flores, a fourth-grader at Robb Elementary, "loved going to school," his uncle, Christopher Salazar told the Washington Post. Salazar is also the person who confirmed Flores' death.

"He was very smart," Salazar told the Post. "He wasn't a kid who would look for trouble."

The Uvalde mass shooting is the deadliest school shooting in Texas state history.

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