The family of two people who were hurt in a mass shooting in El Paso, Texas, say that they were selling lemonade in an effort to raise money for their daughter’s soccer team.
Don and Norma Coca says that their daughter Jessica and son-in-law Guillermo Garcia were shot Saturday outside an El Paso Walmart, along with dozens of others, while their children watched.
“I never would have expected that to happen here or to my family,” Don Coca tells News 12 New Jersey.
The family says that Garcia jumped in front of his wife and children when the 21-year-old gunman opened fire.
“It’s heartbreaking to think what they had to go through,” says Norma Coca.
“When the shooter entered Walmart…my granddaughter stated that she heard him telling people to come out, taunting them,” says Don.
But the family says that their loved ones were surrounded by heroes that day. Don Coca says he is grateful for the people who hid his grandchildren inside the Walmart and for the people who tended to his daughter and son-in-law’s injuries.
Jessica Garcia suffered two gunshot wounds to the leg and is listed in stable condition. Guillermo Garcia was shot in the legs and the back and has a bullet lodged in his spine. He is listed in critical condition and facing his sixth surgery. The family says that if he does survive, there is a 65% chance that he will be paralyzed.
“I just want to send our prayers and our thoughts out to all the families that were affected by this,” says Don Coca.
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GoFundMe Page has been set up to help pay for the family’s medical care.
Patrick Crusius has been charged with capital murder in the mass shooting and assigned a public defender. Investigators say that he posted a racist manifesto on an online forum prior to the shooting – 22 people were killed in the shooting.
El Paso officials have opened a community center to help the public grieve. The center will provide counseling, financial support and travel assistance.