Husband of teacher killed at Texas elementary school shooting dies

The couple leaves behind four children.

May 26, 2022, 3:11 PM

The widower of a Texas elementary school teacher killed in a shooting has died of a heart attack days just days after his wife was killed.

Joe Garcia, the husband of Irma Garcia, suffered a fatal heart attack on Thursday, two days after his wife died in a mass shooting at the Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, the couple's nephew, John Martinez, and a close family friend confirmed.

The couple, who had known each other since the eighth grade, was set to celebrate their 25th anniversary this year, family said.

Irma Garcia was a fourth-grade teacher who had been with the school for 23 years, according to the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District's website.

PHOTO: Irma Garcia, a 4th Grade Teacher at Robb Elementary, was killed in the school shooting on May 24, 2022, in Uvalde, Texas.
Irma Garcia, a 4th Grade Teacher at Robb Elementary, was killed in the school shooting on May 24, 2022, in Uvalde, Texas.
Uvalde CISD

"I love to BBQ with my husband, listen to music, and take country cruises to Concan," Garcia appeared to have written on the school district's website.

Irma Garcia had also been co-teaching with Eva Mireles, the other teacher killed in the attack, in the same classroom for five years.

The two faculty were among another 19 children, mostly third and fourth graders, who were fatally shot on Tuesday when suspected gunman Salvador Ramos opened fire on the classroom.

PHOTO: Crosses with the names of victims of a school shooting, are pictured at a memorial outside Robb Elementary school, after a gunman killed nineteen children and two teachers, in Uvalde, U.S. May 26, 2022.
Crosses with the names of victims of a school shooting, are pictured at a memorial outside Robb Elementary school, after a gunman killed nineteen children and two teachers, in Uvalde, U.S. May 26, 2022.
Marco Bello/Reuters

Ramos allegedly used an AR-15 style rifle to carry out the second-worst school shooting in U.S. history -- just days after he turned 18 and purchased two firearms. Another 17 people, including three law enforcement officers, were wounded.

Ramos was killed after exchanging gunfire with responding law enforcement officers inside the school.

ABC News' Alondra Valle contributed to this report.