Andre Anchondo was killed as he jumped in front of his wife Jordan Anchondo, who was shielding their two-month-old son Paul, as a gunman went on a rampage at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas
A two-month-old baby boy has been orphaned after his mum and dad both died shielding him from gunfire in the El Paso massacre.
Grief-stricken relatives had previously said mum Jordan Anchondo, 25, was killed when a gunman opened fire at a Walmart store in a rampage now treated as domestic terrorism and a possible hate crime.
But they have now been told her husband, Andre Anchondo, 24, was also killed, confirming their worst fears after he was unaccounted for in the hours after the attack.
As gunfire erupted Mrs Anchondo shielded her infant son Paul – leaving him covered in her blood – and Mr Anchondo jumped in front of them, said family members.
Speaking outside the hospital, Mrs Anchondo’s uncle Jesse Jamrowski, told CNN: “From what we understand baby Paul was recovered from the crime scene with his mother on top of him and we got word that Andre had jumped in front of his wife to protect his wife and son throughout the whole circumstance.”
Mrs Anchondo was rushed to hospital in a critical condition but died of her injuries, said her aunt Liz Terry.
Paul had his mother’s blood on him and was admitted to a children’s hospital as Baby John Doe, according to Mr Jamrowski and Ms Terry.
The baby suffered broken fingers and bruising, and was released into his grandparents’ care on Sunday.
Ms Terry said: “Two amazing humans were stripped from us and their babies are left now parentless but we will do everything in our power as a family to unite behind them and continue to remind them of the amazing parents that they had.”
She added: “I think the ultimate sacrifice a parent can show of love is obviously shielding your children, which you shouldn’t [have to do]in a Walmart when you’re shopping for school supplies.”
The Anchondos, who had just celebrated their first wedding anniversary four days before the mass shooting, were doing back-to-school shopping with their son when the rampage began on Saturday morning.
Mrs Anchondo had two daughters, aged two and five, from a previous relationship.
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Mum shielded baby from gunman
She and her husband had just dropped off her eldest daughter – who turned five on the day of the shooting, according to family – at cheerleading practice before going to Walmart.
Her two-year-old daughter was not with them.
The gunman targeted the Walmart in the Texas-Mexico border city because he wanted to kill Hispanics and immigrants, it is claimed.
The Mexican government said seven Mexican nationals were among the 20 people killed in the shooting, and at least six others were among 26 wounded.
Prosecutors have said they will seek the death penalty if suspect Patrick Crusius, 21, is convicted following the eighth deadliest mass shooting in modern US history.
Crusius is accused of driving more than 600 miles from his home in the Dallas area to El Paso to launch a racially motivated attack at the Walmart.
Police said the suspect, armed with an assault rifle and wearing headphones or ear protection, surrendered to officers who confronted him outside the store.A four-page manifesto allegedly posted on 8chan, an online message board often used by far-right extremists, called the Walmart attack “a response to the Hispanic invasion of Texas”.
It also expressed for support for the gunman who killed 51 people at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, in March.
Saturday’s shooting happened after three people were killed in a mass shooting at a food festival in Gilroy, California, and just 13 hours before a gunman killed nine people in a busy bar district in Dayton, Ohio.
