The husband of one of the teachers killed in the Texas school shooting has died suddenly after visiting her memorial.
The Rushing-Estes-Knowles Mortuary confirmed the death of Joe Garcia – husband to Irma Garcia – one of the 21 people gunned down at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde on Tuesday.
The pair were married for 24 years and were high school sweethearts. It's reported Garcia died of a heart attack.
READ MORE: 'Go in there': Police outside for an hour during school massacre
Garcia went to visit his wife's memorial to drop off flowers on Thursday.
He collapsed minutes after returning home, one of his nephews said.
"Extremely heartbreaking and come with deep sorrow to say that my Tia Irma's husband Joe Garcia has passed away due to grief," John Martinez wrote on Twitter.
"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."
The couple shared four children together.
https://twitter.com/fuhknjo/status/1529870121023557632
READ MORE: What we know about the victims of the Uvalde massacre
Irma Garcia, 48, had been teaching for 23 years, her obituary said.
She co-taught with Eva Mireles, 44.
Both were killed by gunman Salvador Ramos, who massacred 19 children after he barricaded himself inside a fourth-grade classroom.
The 18-year-old was inside the elementary school for more than an hour before he was killed in a shootout, law enforcement authorities said today.
It is believed Garcia sacrificed herself to protect her students.
A friend in law enforcement told her son Garcia was seen shielding students at the time of the rampage, NBC reports.
– Reported with Associated Press
