10-year-old victim of the Texas school shooting was killed as she was calling 911, grandmother says

• A mass shooting at an elementary school in Texas on Tuesday has left at least 19 children dead.

• Among them is Amerie Jo Garza, who was shot for trying to call 911, her grandmother told The Daily Beast.

• Garza, who was 10 years old, died immediately, the grandmother said.

A 10-year-old victim of the Texas school shooting on Tuesday was killed while she was calling 911, her grandmother told The Daily Beast.

Berlinda Irene Arreola told The Daily Beast that her granddaughter, Amerie Jo Garza, was a fourth-grader at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. The school was the target of a mass shooting that left at least 19 children and two adults dead.

Arreola told The Daily Beast that Garza was sitting in her classroom when the gunman, identified as an 18-year-old male resident, came in.

"So the gunman went in and he told the children, 'You're going to die,'" Arreola told The Daily Beast. "And she had her phone and she called 911. And instead of grabbing it and breaking it or taking it from her, he shot her."

Arreola said she was told by authorities that her granddaughter died immediately.

Garza's best friend, who was sitting next to her, was covered in her blood, Arreola said. The friend's condition is not known.

"My granddaughter was shot and killed for trying to call 911, she died a hero trying to get help for her and her fellow classmates," Arreola told The Daily Beast.

Insider was unable to independently verify Arreola's claims.

Arreola described her granddaughter as a "teacher's pet" who was "super-outgoing" and "looking forward to making a life for herself."

On the morning of the shooting, Garza had just received her award for the elementary school's honor roll, Arreola said.

Tuesday's attack was the deadliest elementary school shooting since the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre in 2012, which killed 20 children and six adults.

The shooting suspect was shot dead by law enforcement at the scene, the Associated Press reported. Police said two military-style rifles were used in the attack, the outlet reported.

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