Texas Mom Was Fatally Shot in Church Massacre While 'Shielding [Her] Babies' From Gunfire: Friend
A Texas mom died shielding her “babies” from a lone shooter who walked methodically through the First Baptist Church on Sunday morning shooting terrified worshippers, her heartbroken friend shared on Facebook.
Joann Ward was attending the 11 a.m. service with her children when a gunman, identified as former Air Force member 26-year-old Devin Kelley, began firing from outside the small church in Sutherland Springs, Texas.
Seconds later, he entered the church firing upon families, children and a baby – shooting them multiple times to make sure they were dead, say authorities.
Instinctively, Ward covered her children’s bodies with her own, her friend Vonda Greek Smith wrote on Facebook. Addressing Ward, Smith wrote the beloved mom died while “shielding your babies.”
Ward’s daughter, Rihanna, 9, “was there at the shooting but mommy pushed her down when she saw the shooter open fire,” Smith wrote.
“I didn’t get shot because I was hiding, and momma covered Emily, Rylan & Brooke,” said Rihanna, according to Smith’s post.
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Ward and her daughters, Brooke Ward, 5, and 7-year-old Emily Garza, were among the 26 killed people in the attack.
Emily died at the hospital “after a major artery was severed,” Smith wrote.
Ward’s 5-year-old stepson, Rylan Ward, was among the 20 who were wounded in the attack. He was listed in critical condition Monday night.
Rylan’s uncle, Phillip Ward, tells PEOPLE the boy had surgery Sunday night and was going back into surgery Monday afternoon. He says the family is optimistic Rylan will survive but says he may be in the hospital for months and will have to relearn how to walk after breaking bones in his leg.
His father, Chris Ward, is “very devastated,” according to Chris Ward’s uncle, Gary Zwicke, adding, “Stuff like that doesn’t happen in Sutherland Springs.”
Zwicke started a GoFundMe page to help with the funeral expenses and Ward’s cousin Heather Bradley, launched another GoFundMe page to help with hospital bills.
‘A Very Loving Person’
Ward, a daycare worker, “was a very loving person,” Zwicke tells PEOPLE.
She “cared about people, especially the disabled and people that needed help,” Zwicke says. “She would help disabled people in her community and would help wherever she could.”
Ward’s family was devoted to their Christian faith and attended church every Sunday, he said. Chris Ward works nights and was home sleeping at the time of the shooting, Zwicke says.
Zwicke tells PEOPLE that all of Ward’s children were “good kids.” The Wards were regular churchgoers and they “pretty much went there every Sunday,” Zwicke says.
•With reporting by Elaine Aradillas
