Family of Texas school shooting victim Amerie Garza has little hope any change will come
Angel Garza's stepdaughter Amerie was just two weeks past her 10th birthday when he dropped her off at school for what turned out to be the last time.
"She was the sweetest thing. She's so creative. She just got an award for being the most creative," Garza told CBS News.
It was her fourth grade classroom where an 18-year-old gunman opened fire, killing the young girl as she tried to call 911, Garza said.
"She tried to grab her phone and call the cops," he said. "I don't know what to do, man. She didn't deserve that. I just want to protect my little girl."
Amerie's parents, overcome with heartbreak and emotion, aren't sure what to tell her 3-year-old brother Zayne.
"Every morning he wakes up, he asks for his sister," Garza said.
He said it's too painful for his family to stay where they are, in an area so full of memories with their daughter.
"She always makes me laugh because, I mean, I love music and I listen to music all the time. But every time we pulled up to that school and they're about to open her door, she made sure to turn it down all the way because she gets embarrassed," he said.
While some parents find solace in the hope for change, Garza is not one of them — at least not yet.
"Nothing's going to change. I mean, this always happens in the small town. Nobody expects anything bad to happen and then it happens, and everybody wants to make changes to prevent it from happening and then it dies down a little bit and then happens again," he said. "It's a cycle. I just want my baby home. I don't care about anything else."
