Eva Mireles allegedly spoke with her husband, sharing details of the situation inside the building prior to her murder.
A call between Eva Mireles, one of the 2 teachers killed in the Uvalde school shooting, and her husband, a police officer with the school district, suggests authorities may have known the gunman was in a classroom with students.
The active shooter in Robb Elementary School was in the building for over an hour, leading to the murder of 19 students and 2 teachers, including Mireles.
Before police officers confronted him and ultimately shot him dead, Mireles called her husband, Ruben Ruiz. Ruiz was one of the school district officers who was stationed outside the building, according to the New York Times.
"She's in the classroom and he's outside. It's terrifying," Uvalde County Judge Bill Mitchell told reporters about the call, according to the Times.
Authorities initially said that they believed that the gunman was barricaded in an empty classroom. However, this phone call between Mireles and Ruiz — alongside the recently released video of an emergency dispatch telling officers that children were calling 911 from inside the room — suggest that at least one officer knew otherwise.
Mitchell told reporters he did not know if Ruiz had told his department chief, Pete Arredondo, about the call with Mireles.
There were 78 minutes between the first calls to 911 about the gunman and when the Border Patrol team arrived and killed him.
It is not clear at what point during this time frame the call took place or how long Mireles and Ruiz spoke, according to the outlet.
Mitchell told reporters that deputy sheriffs who had been at the school at the time recounted the call and that the teacher apparently described the harrowing scene to her husband.
Mitchell told reporters that he did not know the exact words Mireles used, but that the general topic was that the gunman was already on the attack. "He's outside hearing his wife: 'I'm dying,'" Mitchell said to the outlet.
According to the Times, Ruiz was prevented by other police officers from going inside.
“He could not go into the classroom where all the shooting victims were at,” Mireles' aunt Ms. Martinez Delgado told the outlet in an interview last week.
While details of the incident and police response continue to unfold, the school district has created an official bank account with First State Bank of Uvalde to support the grieving families.
Mireles’ family put together an online obituary that stated, “Her smile and personality never went unnoticed as when she was around.
"It was never a dull moment. She was an outstanding wife, mom, daughter, sister, friend, and educator. Eva will forever live on in our hearts and memories."
Our attempts to reach Ruiz for comment were unsuccessful.
People can send checks through the mail (payable to the "Robb School Memorial Fund"), donate money through Zelle to robbschoolmemorialfund@gmail.com, or donate by calling 830-356-2273.
