When gunshots went out at Robb Elementary School on Tuesday, Daniel Garza, 9, claimed his teacher, Elsa Avila, rushed to the door to lock their classroom, which was near the rooms where 19 kids and two instructors were slain.
Avila was shot through the glass and slumped to the floor, according to Daniel, but she still instructed her pupils to be quiet and pretended to be dead. When the attacker shot through the door, one of the students was also hurt.
Daniel claimed he and his classmates huddled beneath a table adjacent to a wall. Daniel and his frightened classmates remained silent as they heard gunshots and the attacker hammering on the adjoining door.
Daniel’s mother, Briana Ruiz, expressed she actually can’t thank her son’s teacher enough. She believes what the teacher did saved all of their lives.
Despite his survival, Daniel lost his adored cousin, Ellie Garcia, who was in a nearby classroom and one of the 19 kids killed in the tragedy.
“He was quite concerned for her since he didn’t hear any screams from the class,” he explained.
Despite her son’s emotional suffering from the shooting, Ruiz claimed the 9-year-old persisted in speaking to the media in order to shift the emphasis away from the gunman and onto the victims.
“That’s why I agreed to let him do it. If he believes it would help him, I’m OK with it since I want him to heal” She stated.
Ruiz claimed her kid has refused to go inside his bedroom since the incident and has discontinued playing video games.
She stated when she asked him why he isn’t interested in playing, he answered, he doesn’t want to hear gun sounds. They are not watching TV, and any mention of shooting sets him off. That’s something they’ll have to live with for the rest of their lives, and it’ll be difficult.
Ruiz said that the shooter was a previous student of hers while she was a teaching assistant.
In terms of Daniel’s sentiments toward the gunman: “I’m angry and upset at him. I played football with a lot of them, and they all died.”
