Over $2.4 million has been raised on behalf of a teacher killed in the Texas school shooting and her husband, who sadly suffered a fatal heart attack days later.
Irma Garcia was one of the teachers killed after 18-year-old Salvador Ramos barricaded himself in a classroom and opened fire at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas on Tuesday (May 24).
Nineteen children and two teachers lost their lives in the vicious attack, marking this as the deadliest school shooting since the Sandy Hook Elementary school tragedy in 2012.
Joe Garcia, the husband of Irma, tragically died of a heart attack on Thursday (May 26) - just hours after laying down flowers at his wife's memorial.
Per ABC News, the couple had known each other since eighth grade and were set to celebrate their 25th anniversary this year, their family said.
Irma's nephew, John Martinez, confirmed the devastating news on Twitter: "Extremely heartbreaking and come with deep sorrow to say that my Tia Irma’s husband Joe Garcia has passed away due to grief. I truly am at a loss for words for how we are all feeling. Please pray for our family. God have mercy on us, this isn’t easy."
Following the awful tragedy, the Garcia family set up a verified GoFundMe page, which has seen donations reach over $2,400,000 as of this writing.
Debra Austin, one of Irma's cousins, shared a note under the GoFundMe page, reading: "Irma was a wife, a mother of 4, a cousin, a sister a daughter, an aunt, and a wonderful person. She would literally do anything for anybody......no questions asked."
She continued: "She loved her classroom kids and died trying to protect them. Please donate anything you can to help her family. 100% of the proceeds will go to the Garcia family for various expenses. Thank you and God bless."
Debra also wrote about Joe's death: "I am equally devasted to report Irma's husband Joe has tragically passed away this morning (5/26/2022) as a result of a medical emergency."
She then said that she believes Joe died of a broken heart from losing his wife of 25 years, adding: "Please keep our family in your thoughts and prayers. I truly believe Joe died of a broken heart and losing the love of his life of more than 25 years was too much to bear."
The couple leaves behind four children aged 23, 19, 15, and 13 and will be honored at two funerals, Martinez said.
Our thoughts are with the family and friends of Irma and Joe Garcia at this time.
