UVALDE, Texas – The daughter of Eva Mireles, one of the teachers who was shot and killed Tuesday along with 19 students at an elementary school in Texas, penned a heartbreaking, yet heartwarming, letter to her mother, giving the world a look inside the soul of the woman being hailed as a selfless hero.
News4JAX sister station KPRC in Houston shared the letter, which was posted to Twitter by @addy_celeste, in its entirety. NBC News identified the daughter as Adalynn Ruiz.
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Authorities said 21 lives were lost after a lone gunman barricaded himself inside a classroom at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, just 85 miles west of San Antonio, and began shooting at seemingly everything that moved, leaving a path of death and destruction. The victims were Mireles and another teacher, and 19 children, who were all third and fourth graders.
The shooter, identified by police as 18-year-old Salvador Ramos, was fatally shot by officers who responded to the scene. Two officers were also shot, but their injuries were not severe.
Adalynn Ruiz’s letter to her mother reads:
“To the half that makes me whole,
“Mom, I have no words to describe how I feel right now, tomorrow, and for the rest of my life. I never thought that I would be here writing this type of post for you.
“Mom, you are a hero. I keep telling myself that this isn’t real. I just want to hear your voice. I want to hear you talking to our dogs with that silly voice you make so high that wakes everyone up in the morning. I want to hear you say, “Nanis wake up already man” because I keep snoozing my alarm. I want to hug you one last time and I want to feel the calluses on your hands because you were not only a teacher during the day, but the most hardworking cross fitter in the afternoon.
“I want to be able to get out of work and expect your call at 4:30 everyday because that’s the first thing you would do as soon as you got out. I want to see you sitting on the couch you claimed was only yours sitting with our dogs. I want to send you tik toks and say them over and over until dad gets tired of us. I want to annoy you and wake you up from naps just so you can check on my chicken and make sure I didn’t under cook it. I want to sing karaoke with you and hear you sing “shine bright like a diamond!” in your loudest voice. I want to fight with you for the stupidest things and then laugh with you after.
“I want everything back.
“I want you to come back to me mom.
“I miss you more than words can explain.
“My beautiful mom, thank you for the funniest memories.
“Thank you for being my best friend. Thank you for being the best mom anyone could ask for. You are so known by many now and I’m so happy that people know your name and that beautiful face of yours and they know what a hero looks like.
“I don’t know how to do this life without you, but I will take care of dad. I will take care of our dogs and I will forever say your name so you are always remembered, Eva Mireles, 4th grade teacher at Robb Elementary who selflessly jumped in front of her students to save their lives.
“My heart will forever be broken. My best friend, my twin was taken from me.
“Thank you for loving me in the best ways and for raising me to become so strong.
“Everyone who knows you knows how outgoing and funny you were and I will miss your laugh forever.
“I want to thank you mom, for being such an inspiration to me.
“I will forever be so proud to be your daughter.
“My sweet mommy, I will see you again.”