SAN ANGELO, Texas — With heavy hearts, the San Angelo community gathered at a vigil Thursday evening to remember the 21 lives lost during a shooting in Uvalde.
The family of one of the victims was there to honor their loved one.
“My son Uziyah, he was a good boy, he always loved everybody,” Uziyah Garcia’s father, Sergio Garcia, said.
Uziyah was one of the victims fatally shot at Robb Elementary School Tuesday. He was a San Angelo native. His aunt, Leticia Garcia, described him as a sweet boy who enjoyed being surrounded by his family.
“He was our papi chulo, all he ever wanted to do was to be with his dad, you know he was always looking for his dad and wanted to hang out with his siblings,” Leticia Garcia said.
She said Uziyah was a happy boy and loved greatly and every time she saw him, he would tell her multiple times how much he loved her.
“Not only am I mourning my nephew’s loss, I am feeling my brother's pain,” Leticia Garcia said.
With tears in her eyes, she said more needs to be done to protect children.
“It’s a terrible, terrible thought to think that what they lived in those last moments and even though you know that's not what we’re going to focus on, you know what we need to focus on is how is that going to change,” she said.
Right now, the family does not know when a funeral will take place, but they would like to hold a memorial in San Angelo.