This is the touching moment Meghan Markle called to check in with one of the families most affected by the tragedy in Uvalde, Texas, in May 2022.
In a video showing a small portion of the phone conversation, Markle can be heard laughing while talking to Irma Garcia's sister. Irma, 46, was one of the teachers killed while protecting her students during the mass shooting at Robb Elementary.
“How are they?” Markle asks, referring to Irma’s children. “They kind of asked to be left alone because it’s Father’s Day,” her sister replies, adding that she contacted them via text message but didn’t intervene. The call took place on Father's Day.
The Garcia family's tragedy made headlines around the world after the massacre. Two days after Irma was shot by gunman Salvador Ramos, her husband Joe died of a heart attack.
The couple had four children together, ranging in age from their teens to their 20s.
A total of 22 people, including the shooter, were shot in two classrooms on May 24, 2022.
Irma Garcia's nephew Johnny Martinez posted a short video showing his mother talking to Meghan Markle on the phone
Irma Garcia was shot while protecting her students from gunman Salvador Ramos, while her husband Joe, pictured here, died of a “broken heart” just two days later
The Duchess of Sussex Meghan Markle pays her respects at a makeshift memorial outside the Uvalde County Courthouse in Uvalde, Texas, just two days after the tragedy
The video was posted by Irma's nephew, Johnny Martinez. “I've never posted this before, but it's definitely worth seeing. This is just a small part of the video of my mom talking on the phone and Meghan Markle checking on the family on Father's Day,” he wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.
This was posted in response to a viral video showing Markle visiting a shrine set up for the victims two days after the shooting.
The poster of that video sharply criticized Markle, accusing her of bringing a camera crew and using the tragedy to “raise her profile and gain press.”
The post was accompanied by an that this was not the case.”
In subsequent tweets, Martinez says he has “multiple videos” of his mother on the phone with Markle.
He adds that the former Suits star subsequently sent his family gifts, “none of which were intended for the media.”
During her visit, Markle placed a bouquet of white roses at a makeshift memorial in front of the Uvalde County Courthouse.
She also visited a community center in Uvalde that is hosting a blood drive, where she toured the facility and donated food, a volunteer there told . “She didn’t want anyone to know who she was,” the person said at the time.
Markle placed a bouquet of simple white roses at the memorial in front of the Uvalde County Courthouse
Johnny Martinez, who posted the recent video, was heartbroken by the deaths of his aunt and uncle in 2022
In 2023, it was reported that Markle and Prince Harry's Archewell Foundation raised $3 million to build a new park in Uvalde to honor those killed.
Joe and Irma Garcia were married for 24 years. A GoFundMe page set up by the family said he died “of a broken heart” as a result of his wife's murder.
“I firmly believe that Joe died of a broken heart and that the loss of the love of his life of more than 30 years was too much to bear,” said Irma’s cousin Debra Austin.
The couple's nephew tweeted that he died of “grief.”
“Please pray for our family. “God have mercy on us,” he said.
Survivors of the shooting have told how Irma and her 44-year-old teacher colleague Eva Mireles died protecting them from the gunman's bullets.
“She died with children in her arms trying to protect her,” Martinez wrote on Twitter at the time.
“It wasn’t just her students, it was her children.”
Irma taught at Robb Elementary for 23 years and was previously named Teacher of the Year.
She was one of 19 San Antonio area educators named finalists for the 2019 Trinity University Award for Teaching Excellence.
Irma taught third grade and specialized in social studies and ELAR (English Language Arts and Reading).
“I'm so excited to start this new school year!” she wrote on the school district's website before the start of the school year.
At the time of the shooting, the couple's oldest son was in military boot camp and the second oldest was a student at Texas State University.
In a Facebook photo, Joe and his son are seen holding a heart-shaped sign that reads “Proud Bobcat Family” – a reference to the Texas State football team.