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August 05, 2019

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Leonard Cipeda Campos and Maribel Hernandez

The Pharr-San Juan-Alamo Independent School District confirmed the death of Leo Campos, 41, and his wife, Maribel Hernandez, 56, on Sunday.

"We would like to express our sincere condolences for his family during this difficult time. Rest In Peace Leo Campos," the Facebook post stated.

Maribel Hernandez's brother Al Hernandez told KFOX-TV the couple had left their dog at a groomer's before heading to Walmart.

El Paso police have identified one victim as Maribel Loya. It's unclear whether she is the same woman as identified Sunday.

David Alvah Johnson

David Alvah Johnson, 63, died protecting his wife and granddaughter, his niece said on Facebook.

In a post on Facebook, Maria Mia Madera wrote that her uncle hid his wife and 9-year-old granddaughter and that his body was found surrounded by three gun shells.

"He protected them from that murderer. And worked as a shield," Madera wrote. "If he hadn't have been there, they wouldn't have made it. We all cry for your loss."

(Also from the Dallas News website, see link in the previous comment.)

Sara Esther Regaldo Moriel and Adolfo Cerros Hernandez

Sara Esther Regalado Moriel, 66, and Adolfo Cerros Hernández, 68, were among eight Mexican nationals killed in the shooting.

The couple's daughter, Sandra Ivonne Cerros, said on Facebook that she and her family were devastated by their deaths.

"These have been very difficult hours," she said. "Right now we are together and dealing with our pain."

Elsa Mendoza de la Mora

Elsa Mendoza de la Mora, 57, was a special education teacher in Ciudad Juárez. She was in shopping inside the store when the shooting began, while her husband and son waited in the parking lot, according to Mexican newspapers.

El Paso police have identified one victim as Elsa Libera Marquez. It's unclear whether she is the same woman who was identified in Mexican newspapers.

Maria Eugenia Legarrega Rothe

Maria Eugenia Legarreta Rothe, 58, was on her way to pick up her daughter from the El Paso airport, before stopping at the Cielo Vista Walmart, according to Mexican media outlet Telediario Juárez.

Juan Velazquez

Juan Velazquez and his wife, Nicholasa Velazquez, were at the Walmart parking lot when the gunman opened fire, KTMS-TV reported.

A family friend who started a GoFundMe for the couple confirmed Juan Velazquez, 77, died Monday morning from the gunshot wounds to his abdomen, which caused severe damage to his kidneys and intestines.

Mexican authorities had identified one of the Mexican nationals killed as Juan de Dios Velázquez. It's unclear whether the Juan Velazquez identified by El Paso police is the same man.

Other victims

Following are additional names released by El Paso police and Mexican Foreign Relations Secretary Marcelo Ebrard, but no further information has been released about them yet.

— Maria Flores, 77

— Raul Flores, 77

— Alexander Gerhard Hoffman, 66

— Luis Alfonzo Juarez, 90

— Margie Reckard, 63

— Angelina Silva-Elisbee, 86

— Jorge Calvillo García, 61

— Gloria Irma Márquez, 61

— Ivan Hilierto Manzano, 46

— Teresa Sanchez, 82

Ebrard said the Mexican nationals who were killed were from several cities in Mexico, including Ciudad Juárez in Chihuahua, just across the border from El Paso.

Luis Juarez is the father of a colleague of mine. His wife is in the hospital recovering from a gunshot wound and subsequent surgery. I was already past having any useful words even before I found that out. Are we becoming a country where everyone who lives here is no more than two degrees of separation from a victim of a mass shooting? Will it matter?

My cousin's daughter, and her daughter, were at the concert in Las Vegas on 10/1/17. They weren't shot, but I'd still consider them victims. I doubt you ever get over something like that.

Also, doretta -- condolences to your colleague, and all good wishes for Luis Juarez's wife's recovery.

A best friend's husband was murdered by Timothy McVeigh and too numerous-to-count right wing accomplices in the Oklahoma City massacre.

I lived one mile from Columbine High School when the gun murders were carried out there. I was evacuated from the Columbine Public Socialist Library across the park within sight of the high school after the shootings. Drove immediately to my nine-year-old son's elementary school, also nearby, to show ID to release him from the lock down.

He wore a regular kid's backpack that day, not a Kevlar shield as is the fashion now.

Got to hear Franklin fucking Graham blame me and Al Gore, who was also present, for the killings at the Memorial service nearby several days later.

Many of the survivors and family members of the bombings and shootings were driven to alcohol for comfort and empty solace.

Religion and prayer too, for all that matters.

Peace to the dead and counting.

Beatrice N. Warren-Curtis, 36, and Monica E. Brickhouse, 39

Beatrice N. Warren-Curtis, 36, and Monica E. Brickhouse, 39, were out together when they were gunned down. Tonya Amos wrote a powerful note on Facebook, remembering both women as "like two of my work daughters."

"I had the opportunity to manage and mentor them for some years. We sat beside each other everyday," Amos wrote. "We have laughed and cried together. Shared life stories and supported each other. These two ladies were very special to me. I'm sad and mad at this senseless loss. I cannot imagine how their families feel if I'm feeling this way."

Amos told CNN she worked with both women at health insurance giant Anthem. She met Warren-Curtis in 2012 and Brickhouse in 2014. "I looked at them as daughters," she said. "Monica was a mom and had a young son. I used to share parenting tips with her. Beatrice never had kids but was a good person. Outside of work, we had celebrations, birthdays, girls' night."

She said the three of them left their old department in 2016 and had not worked directly together since then, but had stayed in touch.

"They were my top performers. They helped train new associates and built a lot of positive relationships," she said. "They were bright and vibrant young ladies."

News of their deaths has left her shaken. "I woke up Sunday morning to text messages and I just couldn't believe it," Amos said. "I was devastated. My heart just broke for the two of them and their families."

Anthem said both women were associates who served on the company's research, recoveries and adjustments team. "We are deeply saddened by this tragedy," the insurer said. "Monica and Beatrice were not only co-workers, but dear friends, and valuable members of the Anthem team."

Thank you for this Janie

Yes, thank you Janie. There's nothing else to say.

thank you Janie.

I have hit a busy couple of days, but I will keep up with this when I can, and not just with the Dayton and El Paso names. For example, from May of 2018, a school shooting:

Christian Riley Garcia...

...the 15-year-old who dreamed of enlisting in the Army and died trying to save his Santa Fe High School classmates from gunfire, was remembered as a hero and laid to rest Friday with military honors.

A service that drew hundreds to Crosby Church was filled with nods to Riley's patriotism, love of God and devotion to family.

An honor guard from Crosby High School's JROTC presented Riley's mother with a U.S. flag, which had been tucked into his casket. As the melancholy melody of "Taps" filled the church, the cadets in dress uniforms saluted Shannan Claussen.

A slideshow playing throughout the services showed flashes of Riley's brief life: As a baby, cuddling and cooing with his mother. As a toddler in baggy shorts and sitting on a red, white and blue background. As a little boy building a snowman and meeting Santa Claus. As a young man on hunting trips, embracing his little sister, posing in his football uniform.

In one photo, he is in a tie and button-down shirt, grinning at the camera, still wearing braces.

"In every meaning of the word, he truly was heroic," said Pastor Keenan Smith, who has known Riley most of his life and baptized him five years ago. "In action and in deed, he was courageous in the face of evil. He didn't flinch."

The funeral took place a week after a 17-year-old gunman opened fire in the high school, killing 10 people, including Riley, and wounding 13.

According to early reports, Riley died while holding a door shut in the school's art hallway so other students could escape. The gunman fired through the door, striking and killing him.

"He showed bravery far beyond his years. He took it upon himself to get everyone out first, making himself last," the family said in an obituary in the funeral program. "He held his ground and held the door to give others a chance to get out. He was a HERO, he is our HERO."

The freshman had moved to Santa Fe less than two months ago because his family was building a home there.

Just recently, Riley posed for a picture wearing sunglasses and a blue Nike T-shirt, next to a wooden beam in what would have been his room in his family's new home. On the wood, Riley scrawled a passage from the Bible: "He said, 'Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations. I will be exalted in the earth.'"

In Smith's eulogy, Riley was also remembered as someone who was "so full of life. He loved so dearly and was loved so dearly and so deeply."

More about Riley here.

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