A young boy who survived last Tuesday’s massacre at a Texas elementary school has spoken out and recalled the horrific moment his teacher was shot.
9-year-old Daniel Garza and his classmates were returning to their classroom at Robb Elementary School when 18-year-old Salvador Ramos began his killing spree in which 19 children and two teachers lost their lives.
After reaching Daniel’s classroom, Ramos was unable to enter thanks to the students’ quick-thinking teacher who locked the door and broke the key in the lock to prevent the shooter from getting inside.
Unable to enter, Ramos allegedly began shooting into the classroom through the door’s glass window.
“I was scared and nervous, because the bullets almost hit me. Some of us, the ones thinking he could see us, they acted like we got shot and stuff. They were playing dead,” Daniel told the Washington Post as he recalled playing dead in an attempt to trick the gunman into thinking he’d already been shot.
“He then shot, like, two or three bullets, and then the glass broke, but, like, a bullet hit the wall, and bounced off and tried to hit us, but it hit her [classmate’s] nose.
“He then shot like two more bullets, and then he stopped and then went back to the classroom next to us.”
In an interview with CNN, Daniel also admitted he still vividly sees the face of the mass shooter who shot his teacher through the glass window while she was calling for help.
“I can still see his face through the window. I could see where he was staring at people in front of me,” the boy said.
It wasn’t until long after the shooting started that the police smashed a classroom window and led Daniel and his classmates to safety.
Though he lived to tell the tale, Daniel now feels guilty that he survived the shooting while 19 other children, including his beloved cousin, died.
As the 9-year-old’s mother, Briana Ruiz, told KSAT, her son will never again be the same after his horrifying near-death experience.
“The same child that I dropped off that morning, I feel like a piece of him stayed there because when I did got him back, he wasn’t the same anymore,” she said.
“I know it’s gonna take time and it’s gonna be a long road of recovery, especially for him.”
Ruiz went on to pay a tribute to her son’s teacher as she credited her quick thinking for saving her son’s life.
“I personally can’t thank my son’s teacher enough, because I feel what she did saved all their lives,” she added.
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