El Paso Shooting Victims Include Mother Who Died Protecting Her Baby
EL PASO, TEXAS (CBSDFW.COM/AP) — A mass shooting at an El Paso shopping area left 21 people dead and dozens more injured. Some of the victims have been identified by family members but not officially by authorities.
Here are some of their stories:
JORDAN ANCHONDO: 'GAVE HER LIFE' FOR HER BABY
Anchondo was among those killed in El Paso, Anchondo's sister said, and she apparently died while protecting her 2-month-old son from the hail of bullets.
Leta Jamrowski of El Paso spoke to The Associated Press as she paced a waiting room at the University Medical Center of El Paso, where her 2-month-old nephew was being treated for broken bones — the result of his mother's fall.
"From the baby's injuries, they said that more than likely my sister was trying to shield him," she said. "So when she got shot she was holding him and she fell on him, so that's why he broke some of his bones. So he pretty much lived because she gave her life."
Jordan, a mother of three, and Andre Anchondo had dropped off their 5-year old daughter at cheerleading practice before going to shop for school supplies on Saturday at a Walmart in El Paso. They never returned.
ANDRE ANCHONDO: HAD TURNED HIS LIFE AROUND
Andre Anchondo — the husband of Jordan Anchondo, who was also killed in El Paso — had recently turned his life around after struggles with drug dependence and run-ins with the law, a friend recalled.
On Sunday night, John Jamrowski, the grandfather of Jordan Anchondo, said in a text message that his family has been notified of the death of Andre Anchondo.
The death of Jordan Anchondo was confirmed in the hours after the attack, but the family agonized as investigators waited to confirm more than a dozen other deaths.
Koteiba "Koti" Azzam, a friend of Andre Anchondo, had fond memories of him.
"I love the guy," Azzam said in a phone interview from San Marcos, Texas, where he attends Texas State University. "He had the character and the charisma."
Azzam said Andre Anchondo had started a business in El Paso, building things from granite and stone, and made it successful through hard work. He also was on the verge of completing a home for his family.
"It makes you question your faith almost," said Azzam, who is Muslim. "But God didn't have a part in it. The hands of man altered my friend's life in a drastic way."
JESSICA COCA GARCIA and MEMO GARCIA: FUNDRAISING FOR KIDS' BASEBALL TEAM
Jessica Coca Garcia and Memo Garcia were at the Walmart in El Paso to raise money for their 5-year-old son's baseball team when a gunman opened fire, wounding them, a relative says.
Norma Coca told Wichita, Kansas-television station KWCH that her daughter and son-in-law were near the front doors of the Walmart when they were shot.
Coca, who lives in Salina, Kansas, said her daughter, Jessica Coca Garcia, was shot three times in the leg. She says her son-in-law, Memo Garcia, was shot twice in the leg and once in the back. She said her daughter was in stable condition and her son-in-law was in critical condition.
Jessica Coca Garcia's father, Don Coca, said they have family in the El Paso area who were able to be with the couple. Don Cocoa says: "She was just crying ... I told her that our prayers are there and we're on our way."
The couple's son and 11-year-old daughter were also at the Walmart and were not shot.
MARIO DE ALBA: A WOUNDED FATHER
The Facebook page of Mario De Alba, who was shot in the back in El Paso and is reported to be in intensive care, shows him as a devoted father to his 10-year-old daughter Erika.
In one picture, taken in a living room, Erika cups her hand in the shape of a heart in front of an entertainment center. 0n the shelves behind her are the words FAMILY and PEACE in bold letters.
A Facebook post from a friend whose wife is with them in the hospital says: Mario is stable but in intensive care. Mother and daughter are out of danger.
MEXICAN GOVERNMENT IDENTIFIES FIVE CITIZENS KILLED IN EL PASO
Mexico's Foreign Ministry identified five citizens who were killed in the shooting Saturday in a shopping complex in El Paso. The ministry did not provide ages for them. They are:
— Sara Esther Regalado of Cuidad Juarez.
— Adolfo Cerros Hernández of Aguascalientes.
— Jorge Calvillo García of Torreón.
— Elsa Mendoza de la Mora of Yepomera.
— Gloria Irma Márquez of Juárez.
(© Copyright 2019 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
