Sub with ‘lust for life’ among Texas victims

SANTA FE, Texas—A substitute teacher who relatives say had a “lust for life” and a foreign exchange student from Pakistan are among the first confirmed victims of Friday’s mass shooting at a Texas high school.

CYNTHIA TISDALE

Family members confirmed that substitute teacher Cynthia Tisdale was among the victims killed in the shooting.

Tisdale’s niece, Leia Olinde, said Tisdale was like a mother to her and helped her shop for wedding dresses last year.

“She was wonderful. She was just so loving,” said Olinde, 25. “I’ve never met a woman who loved her family so much.”

She said Tisdale was married to her husband for close to 40 years and that the two had three children and eight grandchildren.

SABIKA SHEIKH

A Pakistani foreign exchange student is among those killed in the shooting, according to a leader at a program for foreign exchange students and the Pakistani Embassy in Washington, D.C.

Megan Lysaght, manager of the Kennedy-Lugar Youth Exchange & Study Abroad program (YES), sent a letter to students in the program confirming that Sabika was killed in the shooting.

She said the program would be holding a moment of silence for the girl, who is pictured beaming in a shirt that says “Texas” in a photo being shared on social media.

Lysaght declined further comment when contacted by The Associated Press and referred calls to a State Department spokesman.

The Pakistan Embassy in Washington, D.C., identified Sabika as a victim of the shooting on Twitter and wrote that “our thoughts and prayers are with Sabika’s family and friends.”

The Pakistan Association of Greater Houston said on Facebook that Sabika was due to go back home to Pakistan for Eid al-Fitr, a three-day holiday that marks the end of the holy Muslim month of Ramadan.

“May Allah bless her soul and may she RIP,” the statement said.