Girl Scouts honors Uvalde victim Amerie Jo Garza in the most beautiful way

Amerie Jo Garza was one of the first Uvalde victims who was killed during the mass shooting, Texas last week. On Tuesday, the Girl Scouts of the USA posthumously awarded her one of the highest honors for her heroism—Amerie was shot after trying to call 911 for help.

“Last week, Girl Scouts of the USA posthumously bestowed upon Amerie Jo Garza, 10, of Uvalde, Texas, one of the highest honors in Girl Scouting: the Bronze Cross,” the Girl Scouts of Southwest Texas tweeted. “The Bronze Cross is awarded for saving or attempting to save life at the risk of the Girl Scout’s own life.”

The Girl Scouts website says the Bronze Cross is presented when a girl has shown special heroism or faced extraordinary risk of her own life to save another’s life or an attempt to save another life.

Amerie’s grandmother, Belinda Arreola, confirmed to People that her granddaughter was shot and killed for trying to call 911.

Related: Mom of Uvalde survivor: ‘I do not want my son to go to school in America anymore’

“He could have just taken her phone away,” Arreola says. “He could have just broke it, done something. And he just shot her. She was a hero trying to call 911, to save her and her friends,” says the grieving grandmother.

According to the Girl Scouts of Southwestern Texas, Amerie was in her first year of Girl Scouts and loved it. They said she was a “bright and outgoing fourth-grader who loved Play-Doh, playing with friends at recess—and being a Girl Scout.”

On the morning of the shooting, Amerie had just received an award for making the honor roll. A GoFundMe was set up by a family friend, Jasmine Wright, for Amerie’s parents.

“Amerie was such a beautiful soul,” Wright writes on the fundraiser page. “She touched everyone’s hearts around her and she lit up every room she walked into. She received an award yesterday for honor roll just before the shooting occurred. She was so smart and such a good child. Amerie is known for being a hero and trying to call 911 before the shooter took her life.”

Related: Here are all the GoFundMe fundraisers for Uvalde victims and their families

Amerie was the first of the Uvalde victims to be laid to rest Tuesday. The Texas Tribune reports that many of the mourners arrived to the church wearing shades of “lilac and lavender,” Amerie’s favorite color.

Funerals for the remaining 20 victims will take place throughout the next two weeks in Uvalde.

“Amerie did all she could to save the lives of her classmates and teachers,” the Girl Scouts said. “We will carry her story with us always and ensure her brave actions will endure for generations.”

Related Stories

News

The viral bedtime hack that gets kids back to sleep (and it’s fun too!)

News

Viral TikTok calls out the ‘leisure gap’—why moms can’t just relax

News

Doctors reveal the #1 thing they’d never let their kids do—it’s eye-opening