4th Grader Survived Texas School Massacre By Smearing Blood On Herself And Playing Dead

An 11-year-old who survived the massacre at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, on Tuesday, made it out alive by smearing blood on herself and playing dead when the gunman entered her classroom, her family revealed.

Speaking to KNBC, Miah Cerrillo's aunt and godmother said the 4th grader is struggling to cope with the trauma and opening up to her loved ones about what she witnessed during the shooting. "Around midnight my sister-in-law called me and she was just crying, like 'I think it just hit Miah. I think everything came to reality now,'" said Blanca Rivera.

According to The Washington Post, the young girl had arrived late to school after a doctor's appointment on the day of the tragedy. Less than an hour after she reached school, the shooting began. Recounting the nerve-wracking moments that followed, Miah's father, Miguel Cerrillo, shared that when his wife got to the school to check on their two daughters, she saw parents trying to break windows to help students escape. When Cerrillo arrived at the scene just after noon, a crowd of law enforcement officers, journalists and a growing group of terrified parents had formed outside. 

Not long after his arrival, the concerned father saw an officer exit the school carrying two children. One of them was Miah, who was alive but covered in blood. "I panicked," Cerrillo said, recalling that his daughter was loaded onto a yellow school bus but he was prevented from retrieving her from the vehicle. They could only speak through the window and Miah described to her father some of the violence she witnessed inside the school. She told him that saw her teacher, Eva Mireles (one of the two teachers who lost their lives on Tuesday), get shot and the phone slipping from her hand. Miah grabbed it and called 911.

One of her classmates was also bleeding after getting shot, Miah told her father, and she decided to lie on top of the girl so the gunman would think they were both dead. Unfortunately, Miah witnessed the friend die before help arrived, Cerrillo revealed. Meanwhile, Rivera explained that watching her teachers and peers getting targeted put her niece in survival mode. "Miah got some blood and put it on herself so she could pretend she was dead," she said. "It's too much for me to play that scene over and over again, but that's what my sister-in-law said is that she saw her friend full of blood and she got blood and put it on herself."

Miah's left side—from her neck all the way down her back—was lacerated by small bullet fragments and her hair was singed by gunfire. Doctors at Uvalde Memorial Hospital disinfected and bandaged the cuts but decided against removing the fragments. After getting discharged late Tuesday evening, the child reportedly spent the night seized with fear, telling her father to get his gun because "he's going to come get us." Rivera, a mother of three, said the family is rallying around Miah to help her recover from the physical and emotional trauma caused by the incident. "At this point, we just have to pray and ask God to help us move forward through this situation, I know it's traumatizing as it is," she said.

Miah's parents took her to another medical checkup and then to Sacred Heart Catholic Church in search of peace on Wednesday. They lit a candle and two priests "prayed over her and prayed over us," Cerrillo said. The worried father confessed he still hadn't come to terms with the tragedy. "We figured Uvalde was safe," he said. "Now we know it's not safe." The family has set up a GoFundMe to help Miah access professional help to overcome her trauma.

References: 

https://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/national-international/11-year-old-survivor-of-uvalde-massacre-put-blood-on-herself-played-dead-aunt/2903282/

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2022/05/25/reconstruction-timeline-uvalde-school-shooting/

https://www.gofundme.com/f/donate-to-help-miah?utm_campaign=p_cf+share-flow-1&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_source=customer

Cover Image Source: GoFundMe