A cousin of Iolan Kristi Tavarez was critically wounded Tuesday in a school shooting in Roswell, N.M.
Nathan Tavarez, 11, was one of two victims shot while at Berrendo Middle School in Roswell, N.M., just before classes began Tuesday morning.
Both students were flown by helicopter to the University Medical Center in Lubbock, Texas. He suffered gunshot wounds to his face and torso. The other victim is Kendal Sanders, 13, who was shot in the chest. Both are seventh-graders.
Kristi, who works at All About U hair salon, said her cousin was shot twice with a shotgun by a 12-year-old, who was arrested immediately after the incident.
The two students were among dozens gathered in a gym before the beginning of school. The attacker brought the shotgun to school in a band instrument case, according to press reports.
Kristi Tavarez said her cousin went into surgery once he arrived at the Lubbock hospital.
“He got out of surgery about 4 o’clock,” Kristi said late Tuesday afternoon, but then was taken back to surgery during the night.
“I’m about two hours from Lubbock right now,” she told the Register at 8 a.m. today. “I haven’t been able to talk to them (family) for a while. I’ve been driving all night.”
The boy is is being treated in the hospital’s intensive care unit. A goal of doctors is to prevent swelling from multiple wounds, Kristi said.
ANOTHER student at Berrendo with Iola ties is Olivia Lee, daughter of Sean and Brenda Lee. She is the granddaughter of Iolans Bob and Beverly Johnson.
Olivia was a tad late getting to school Tuesday morning, arriving a minute or two after the shooting occurred.
“When we drove up, teachers outside were waving at us and I thought they wanted Olivia to hurry inside, since she was late,” said her father.
Instead, they were motioning for him to drive on with her, he later learned.
“I saw the father in front of me with his child still in the car and I started to think something was wrong,” after leaving Olivia at the school’s front door. Dozens of emergency vehicles racing to the school, a mile north of Roswell, confirmed that “something was wrong.”
Meanwhile, Olivia was ushered to a storeroom near the school’s office, protected by double doors and bullet-proof glass, where she and several other students and teachers were sequestered for the next hour.
“Olivia called me right away on her cell phone to tell me she was OK,” said mother Brenda. “We kind of babied her the rest of the day.”
The Lees also have a son, Hudson, who is a sophomore at Roswell’s Goddard High Schoo
Iolans have ties to school shooting
