A North Texas family is grieving alongside those in Uvalde after learning their son’s friend, 10-year-old Alithia Ramirez, was among the victims, killed just like he was in a tragedy last year.
Like the other 18 children and two teachers gunned down in an elementary school classroom, Ramirez will always be remembered just as she was at 10 years old, a little girl who loved art, excelled at soccer and was exceedingly kind.
“She was just truly - she had an open heart. She worried and cared for others,” said Fernanda Sedeno.
Sedeno’s son Nico became friends with Alithia when the two were in first grade in Uvalde. After moving away to North Texas, tragedy struck when Nico was hit and killed by a car while playing in front of his home.
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“Even after we lost our child, we relied on her companionship, on her friendship,” she said.
The following Christmas, Alithia sent a picture showing Nico as an angel above her. She told the family, that he’d always be by her side.
“It’s unfortunate that these two friends who longed to be reunited, that this is how it happened. It shouldn’t have and it could’ve been completely avoided,” said Sedeno.
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Sedeno soon will be headed back to Uvalde for Alithia’s funeral and to hug another mom who now knows the unfathomable pain of losing a child.
Though she’d hoped to return to this small community that holds a special place in her heart, Sedeno says she never imagined it would be for something like this.
“Now it’s a town that’s grieving and filled with sadness and they’ll never be the same. I don’t think anything there will ever be the same,” she said.
