Courage in the classroom: Uvalde school shooting survivor Khloie Torres shares story
UVALDE (CBSNewsTexas) - At 10 years old, Uvalde school shooting survivor Khloie Torres has shown more bravery than most adults.
Now 11, she and another classmate called 911 twice while trapped inside Robb Elementary School with a gunman for 77 minutes on May 24, 2022. Nineteen children and two teachers were murdered that day.
"Please hurry. There's a lot of dead bodies," she told the 911 operator. "Some of my teachers are still alive but they're shot."
"You need to tell them that they need to be quiet," the operator advised.
"I am. I am. I'm telling everybody to be quiet and now nobody's listening to me. I know how to handle these situations," Khloie whispered.
The 4th grader survived (with shrapnel wounds) the initial rounds of gunfire that killed most of her classmates and her teacher in Room 112.
Her father Reuben Torres, who served as a United States Marine, said he had often talked to his children about how they would handle a situation like this.
"My dad told me when I was a little girl -- send help," Khloie shared.
She struggles with survivors' guilt, according to her father, and lingering psychological scars.
"I think she did absolutely phenomenal," Torres said. And though he's proud, he admits that day still weighs heavy on his daughter. "It's a weight on her shoulders."
Part of that heaviness comes in the form of nightmares and nausea, according to Torres.
"She still asks if that was the right thing that she did that day," said Torres.
But a recent award from a Texas 911 organization for Kid Hero of the Year has helped Khloie understand she did everything she could have to save her friends. Something in stark contrast, according to her father, when it comes to the officers who stood by as children called for help.
"You know, I'm a big firm believer that they could have saved lives, they froze and you know, that's disgusting in my opinion."