UVALDE – At the Willie de Leon Civic Center, four clusters of adults held each other as they wept. “It was her,” said one woman as she sobbed into the chest of a man.
Jessie Rodriguez pleaded for information on his daughter, a 10-year-old girl. He and his ex-wife were calling hospitals in the area, trying to find her.
The civic center became a gathering place as parents waited for news Tuesday after a shooter attacked Robb Elementary, killing 19 children. By around 6 p.m., they had heard little.
”We are desperate,” the father said. “Where are we supposed to go? Where is she?” he said, putting his hand to his heart.
His daughter is a twin and the other girl stayed home from school Tuesday. He described his missing daughter as “a smart little girl, an A-student. Even if she is sick, she still goes to school.”
Winds picked up and rustled through the oak trees. Stacks of bottled water and slices of pizza were available for those who waited outdoors on the grass.
Near him, his wife Esmeralda Rodriguez said she believed the girl’s teacher was also shot. “We just want to find her,” said the father.
“Alive,” added the stepmother firmly.
But late into the night, the family learned that was not to be. The girl was confirmed as one of the victims, Esmeralda said.
Earlier in the day, Rodriguez had showed a photo on his phone of his smiling daughter with thick hair. She was holding an honor roll certificate.
Esmeralda Rodriguez said she was against guns, “even though my son is a cop.”
Her husband, a housing remodeler, thought little Uvalde would be a safe place to live, and had moved from Houston more than a decade ago.
About 50 people were gathered at the civic center, where school officials said there would be grief counselors available tomorrow.
At a brief news conference at another location, Uvalde Consolidated ISD Superintendent Hal Harrell that “the school year is done” and that classes would be canceled.
”My heart is broken today,” Harrell said, as his voice cracked.
