Young mother, vet, teen among dead in El Paso
The 20 people slain in a mass shooting in the Texas border city of El Paso on Saturday included citizens of the U.S. and Mexico alike. Among the victims were an Army veteran shopping with his wife, a young mother protecting her 2-month-old son and a 15-yearold high school student.
More than a day after the attack in a Walmart, authorities had yet to publicly identify the victims, but some family members have begun to share stories about their loved ones.
Jordan Anchando
A 25-year-old mother of three, Jordan Anchondo was shopping for school supplies with her 2-month-old son when the gunman entered the store.
Her sister, Leta Jamrowski, 19, told the Associated Press that her nephew was being treated for broken bones at an El Paso hospital after his mother fell on top of him.
“From the baby’s injuries, they said that more than likely my sister was trying to shield him,” Jamrowski said. “So when she got shot she was holding him and she fell on him, so that’s why he broke some of his bones. So he pretty much lived because she gave her life.”
Jamrowski spent the night desperately awaiting word of whether her brother-in-law, Andre Anchondo, had survived the attack that also wounded more than two dozen.
“They said that if he were alive, more than likely he would have gotten in contact by now,” Jamrowski said.
Arturo Benavides
Every Sunday, Arturo Benavides and his wife, Patricia, went to Walmart after church to do their weekly shopping, the Los Angeles Times reported. But on Saturday morning, Benavides woke up, drank his coffee and announced he wanted to go to Walmart a day earlier.
Benavides, 60, a U.S. Army veteran who retired a few years ago as a bus driver for El Paso’s Sun Metro, was at the checkout when the gunman entered. Patricia, who was sitting at a nearby bench, was pushed into a handicapped bathroom for safety, said their niece, Jacklin Luna.
“It is with heavy hearts that we mourn the loss of our loved one Arturo Benavides,” the family said on a memorial posted Sunday on GoFundMe. “He was an amazing husband, son, brother, godfather and uncle.”
Luna, 23, said she shared a particularly close relationship with her uncle, who was also her godfather. He and her aunt didn’t have children.
“I was practically their child,” she said. “I spent my childhood waking up at their house, sitting out on the front porch with him on Sunday mornings, listening to the oldies on the radio.
“He was kind, generous, always willing to give everyone the shirt off his back,” she added. “People would look forward to riding on his bus. Regulars would only ride with him. That says a lot.”
Standing outside the house on a muggy, hot Sunday afternoon as family and neighbors streamed in to provide food and emotional support, his nephew, Ruben Rojas, said Benavides was “easygoing,” and a good Catholic who went to Mass at St. Pius X and enjoyed watching sports. “All of them — basketball, baseball, football, soccer — you name it.”
Javier Amir Rodriguez
A 15-year-old high school student and avid soccer player, Javier Amir Rodriguez was among the deceased, his aunt, Elvira Rodriguez, said Sunday on Facebook.
After Elvira Rodriguez and her family could not find him at reunification centers in El Paso on Saturday, she took to social media to appeal for help.
Early Sunday afternoon, officials informed them that he had died.
“Thank you to everybody who helped us search for my nephew,” Elvira Rodriguez said on Facebook. “We found him.
“I just don’t get why? I know I’ll never have answers. I’m so confused, hurt, mad !!!!!
“May you Rest In Peace baby boy!!!”
Javier Rodriguez played with Express Futbol Club, an El Paso soccer club for boys and girls. On Sunday afternoon, the soccer club announced that it would organize a charity game to help the Rodriguez family, as well as the families of soccer coaches who were also victims.