Body of Mexican school teacher killed in El Paso shooting returns to Mexico
CIUDAD JUÁREZ, Mexico -- The body of El Paso shooting victim Elsa Mendoza de la Mora was returned to Mexico in a hearse that crossed the Puente Libre bridge in Ciudad Juárez.
Mendoza is one of eight Mexican victims who was killed in the shooting and killing of 22 people at a Walmart in El Paso.
She was a teacher and taught primary school in the Mexican border town of Juárez.
A colleague of Mendoza told CNN she often went to the Walmart, which is just across the river, to buy school supplies. They were a little less expensive there.
A friend and fellow teacher said she had taught hundreds of children during her long career.
"She was a good teacher," she said. "What can I say? For 30 years, she worked and was very giving and very dedicated."
Just down the road from Mendoza's school, employees at a radio station are also in mourning.
Their colleague, Ivan Manzano, also lost his life in the shooting.
"He was a family man," she said. "Aside from work, his priority was his mother, his wife, and his children. His little one, most of all, because she was the light in his eyes. She was his princess, 'his life' is what he would say."
CNN reports there aren't any memorials in Juárez for the victims of the El Paso shooting.
Juárez is no stranger to violence. Drug cartel killings have made it one of most dangerous cities in Mexico, and El Paso has provided a sanctuary for many Mexicans.
Following the shooting, many people in Juárez wonder if anywhere is really safe. They say anti-immigrant and anti-Latino sentiment in the U.S. are more visible than ever before.
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"It's always been said that El Paso is more secure," said a resident. "But things need to change. They need a change, especially with this."
The first funerals for the Mexican victims of the shooting will take place Thursday.
