Heartbreaking photo shows Texas judge sobbing after identifying school shooting victims | indy100

Uvalde families urge Biden to “do something!” after mass shooting

Video

A heartbreaking image shows a Texas judge breaking down in tears - after carrying out the grim task of identifying the bodies of 19 children and two teachers who were shot to death in Uvalde.

Eulalio Diaz Jr had the horrific task of identifying those killed in the atrocity, and entered the classroom where the carnage took place.

According to a Reuters report, he looked down at the floor and saw one of his high school classmates. He also saw the bodies of slain fourth graders - whose parents were friends of his.

As the Justice of the Peace in the small city of Uvalde, his duties usually revolve around minor court cases and officiating weddings, but because Uvalde does not have a medical examiner he had to act as country coroner.

He said he tried to prepare himself for the scene he’d see on entering the classroom, but it was worse than he could have imagined.

On the floor of the classroom where all of the victims died was the body of Irma Garcia, one of the two teachers killed.

\u201cIn this powerful photo, a Uvalde, Texas judge breaks down and is consoled by a constable after having to identify the 19 bullet-ridden bodies of elementary schoolers shot dead by a mass shooter wielding man AR-15 assault weapon\u2026\u201d
— Occupy Democrats (@Occupy Democrats) 1653885085

He said: “She was a year behind me in school, at Uvalde High School. We were together through junior high and high school. We really know who these victims are.

"When I got home last night after identifying all the victims, I started to get Facebook messages, and I realized that I knew the parents and even grandparents of many of the kids.”

He hinted at the grim task he faced in the classroom, saying: “Children don't carry IDs, they don't have name badges.”

He said he tried to spare parents the pain of describing the state of their children’s bodies, and attempted to identify as many as possible through descriptions of their clothing.

For those that couldn’t be identified, DNA swabs of family members had to be taken.

"We all feel such anguish. But we all are here to support one another," he said.

The massacre has prompted fresh calls for gun control.

Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.