El Paso shooting: Victims of deadly Walmart attack, including couple who died protecting their baby

Military veteran, teenage high school student and seven Mexican nationals die in attack

Two mass shootings just hours apart have shocked America and renewed calls for stricter gun control in the United States.

Thirty-two people were killed and dozens left injured in the attacks over the weekend, with 22 deaths at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas, and ten at a bar in Dayton, Ohio.

The attack in El Paso was the 250th mass shooting in the US this year and more than 280 people have been killed in such shootings in 2019 so far.

Donald Trump said tighter gun control was needed after the attacks but indicated that he wanted such legislation to be linked to divisive immigration reforms.

Here are some of the EL Paso victims’ stories.

Jordan and Andre Anchondo

Jordan Anchondo is reported to have died while protecting her 2-month-old son from the gunman.

Her sister, Leta Jamrowski, said she died from the injuries she received while shielding her baby in the attack.

Ms Anchondo’s husband, Andre, had recently turned his life around after struggling with drug dependence and issues with the law, according to a friend.

Koteiba “Koti” Azzam, a friend of Mr Anchondo, said he had just started a business in El Paso, building things from granite and stone, and was on the verge of completing a home for his family.

Jordan and Andre Anchondo had recently dropped off her 5-year-old daughter at cheerleading practice before going to the El Paso Walmart on Saturday.

Arturo Benavides

Jacklin Luna, Arturo Benavides’ niece, told the New York Times that Mr Benavides was an Army veteran and a bus driver for El Paso’s public transit system.

She said he had lived in El Paso his whole life and had been married to his wife, Patricia, for more than 30 years. Patricia was present at the shooting and survived the attack.

“He was the person to always give a helping hand, a home to stay, and a meal,” Ms Luna told Buzzfeed.

Angelina Englisbee

Angelina Englisbee was an 86-year-old grandmother, relatives said, who had seven children and a son who died in infancy.

After her husband died of a heart attack, Ms Englisbee raised her children on her own, her granddaughter Mia told the New York Times.

The last her family heard from her was when she spoke to one of her sons on the phone just before 10.30am on Saturday.

She told him she had to hang up because she was in the checkout line at Walmart.

Javier Amir Rodriguez

Javier Amir Rodriquez – a 15-year-old high school student and football player – was among the victims of the shooting, according to his aunt.

His local football team, Express Futbol Club, announced that it would be organising a charity match to help his family and the families of other victims.

Leonardo Campos

The Pharr-San Juan-Alamo school district said Leonard Campos, an alumni of the school, died in the shooting.

“We are sad to learn that one of our own was a victim of the El Paso shooting,” Jesse Zambrano, the school board president, said.

“Leo Campos was a great athlete and friend to many during his time at PSJA High. He was a goalie for the soccer team and a kicker for the football team.”

Seven Mexican nationals

Marcelo Ebrard, Mexico’s foreign minister, said seven Mexican nationals had been killed in the shooting.

“We consider this an act of terrorism against the Mexican-American community and Mexican nationals in the United States,” Mr Ebrard told reporters.

The seven victims were: Sara Esther Regalado and Adolfo Cerros Hernandez (husband and wife), Gloria Irma Marquez, Jorge Calvillo García, María Eugenia Legarreta Rothe, Ivan Filiberto Manzano and Elsa Mendoza de la Mora.

Additional reporting by agencies