Prince Harry and Meghan Markle surprise family of teacher killed in Uvalde school shooting

The LA-based royals have been praised as “loving and supportive” after visiting the family of a teacher killed in one of America’s deadliest school shootings.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have surprised the family of a teacher killed in the deadliest school shooting in Texas.
New photos show the LA-based royals embracing the nephew of Irma Garcia, who was killed in the 2022 shooting at Robb elementary school in Uvalde.

Garcia, 48, another teacher and 19 children were killed by former student Salvador Ramos, 18, on May 24 that year. Seventeen others were injured in the rampage.

Harry and Meghan with John Martinez. Picture: Twitter/ John Mtz @fuhknjo

Meghan came bearing a cake, it was revealed. Picture: Twitter/ John Mtz @fuhknjo

Taking to Twitter, Garcia’s nephew John Martinez said: “Meghan Markle and Prince Harry came to my house!

“They’re such a beautiful couple and I’m so blessed – so glad they came to check up on the family.

“Can’t believe how loving and supportive they are especially to my amazing cousins.

“What a great experience to be a part of.

“Meghan Markle singing my mom Happy Birthday was the cutest, most adorable thing ever – she even bought her a cake.”

Martinez said the royals were “loving and supportive”. Picture: Twitter/ John Mtz @fuhknjo

Meghan Markle placed flowers outside a memorial in Uvalde two days after the shooting. Picture: AFP

It comes after an independent report commissioned by The Uvalde city council ruled out any wrongdoing on the part of police that responded to the shooting.

Police came under fire after waiting nearly 77 minutes at the scene before entering a classroom and killing the gunman.

Victims’ families cried in the back of the room as the city council read its report, ABC News US reports. Some families later left the room, overwhelmed with emotions.

“How do you live with yourselves? Shame on y’all,” said Veronica Mata, the mother of 10-year-old victim Tess Mata. “You said they did it in good faith. You call that good faith? They stood there 77 minutes and waited after they got call after call.”

“These police officers signed up to do a job – they didn’t do it,” Ruben Zamora, whose daughter, Mayah, was injured in shooting, said to the police chief.

Meghan Markle travelled to Uvalde to lay flowers at a memorial two days after the horrific shooting in 2022. She also visited a community centre hosting a blood drive to donate packages of “sandwiches, beverages, and desserts”, BuzzFeed Bews reported at the time.

MEGHAN CHALLENGES ‘CONSPIRACY THEORIES’

Meghan Markle has spoken of the “conspiracy theories” targeting women and challenged those who share “something terrible” online.

Ms Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, was speaking on a panel in Texas alongside actor Brooke Shields and US television presenter Katie Couric when she asked why people would knowingly spread harmful content.

South by Southwest is an annual festival that celebrates technology, film, music, education and culture, and runs from March 8-16.

She said the “conspiracy theories” about women were particularly toxic.

“I cannot make sense of that. If you’re reading something terrible, terrible about a woman, why are you sharing it with your friends?,” she said.

“Why are you choosing to put that out in the world? What if it was your friend, your mum, your daughter?”

Meghan, Duchess of Sussex speaks onstage during the Breaking Barriers, Shaping Narratives: How Women Lead On and Off the Screen panel during the 2024 SXSW Conference and Festival. Picture: Getty

Her comments come after days of speculation about the health of her estranged sister-in-law Catherine, Princess of Wales.

“There are lots of women at the highest executive level who are great champions of women, great philanthropists, and they are working in these spaces,” the 42-year-old said.

“And yet they are allowing these behaviours to run rampant. And at a certain point, they have got to put the do’s behind the say’s, and really make some changes on a systemic level.”

The ex-Suits actor also attacked the film and TV industry who she accused of perpetuating a “stigma” around women and “pigeonholing” women of certain backgrounds and ages into specific roles.

Errin Haines, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, Katie Couric and Brooke Shields speak at the South by Southwest event. Picture: Getty

Ms Markle said most of the online hate directed at her happened while she was pregnant with her and husband Prince Harry’s two children,

“You just think about that and to wrap your head about why people would be so hateful. It’s not catty it’s cruel. Why you would do that when you’re pregnant or as a mom at such a tender and sacred time”

It was difficult not to be overwhelmed by the negativity in those moments, she said.

“You could succumb to it, or nearly succumb to how painful that is. Or maybe because I was pregnant that mammalian instinct just kicks in to do everything you can to protect your child and as a result protect yourself too.”

Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, watched Ms Markle speak from the front row. Picture: Getty

Prince Harry, who was supporting her from the front row, was praised by Ms Markle for being a “hands on dad”.

“My husband is such a hands-on dad and such a supporter of me and our family,” she said.

“In don’t take that for granted. That is a real blessing. A lot of people don’t have that same level of support.”

According to SXSW organisers, the session was presented by the Sussexes’ Archewell Foundation and The 19th, a US non-profit newsroom that reports on gender, politics and policy.

Originally published as Prince Harry and Meghan Markle surprise family of teacher killed in Uvalde school shooting