Kimberly Rubio’s Facebook profile picture has her 10-year-old daughter Lexi posing happily in an accessories store. In another photo, from just hours before Lexi was shot dead in school, Kimberly and her husband Felix flank their daughter as she proudly holds up a certificate from an honour roll ceremony. 

Kimberly and Felix were in school on Tuesday morning to celebrate little Lexi’s achievements. “We had no idea this was goodbye”, Kimberly Rubio wrote on Facebook, adding, “We told her we loved her and would pick her up after school.”

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They did not meet again. Alexandria Aniyah Rubio or Lexi was one of 19 children killed by an 18-year-old gunman in another senseless school shooting, this time in Uvalde, near San Antonio in Texas.

The shooter, identified as Salvador Rolando Ramos, entered the Robb elementary school that Lexi attended and barricaded himself in a classroom, before opening fire at students and teachers. He was gunned down by a tactical team that broke into the classroom, but not before he had killed or injured many students and several teachers.

As a deputy officer at the Uvalde County Sheriff’s Office, Felix Rubio was one of those who responded to the shooting. “All I can hope is that she’s just not a number. This is enough. No one else needs to go through this. We never needed to go through this, but we are,” the grieving father told CNN, his eyes full of tears.

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Kimberly Rubio said Lexi was good at both sports and academics. Apart from an All A in the honour roll, Lexi also received a good citizen award on Tuesday. Her parents said she wanted to be a lawyer, like her mother, when she grew up. 

“My sweet Lexi. Love of my life. Keeper of my soul. I carried you inside me. I’m you. You are me. I want to be with you. Now. Not later.” Kimberly posted on Facebook, every word drenched in pain.

A poignant, heart-wrenching reminder of happy days is Kimberly’s post from May 3, a video of Lexi playing baseball.