‘I feel really empty’: Annabell Rodriguez’s family speaks out nearly 3 months after Uvalde shooting

UVALDE – Nearly three months later, KSAT 12 is continuing to honor the victims killed inside Robb Elementary School.

Annabell Rodriguez’s family welcomed us into their home to talk about the girl who they said had the biggest heart.

“She would always do a lot of TikToks with her sisters. She loved dancing. Yeah, she loved dancing,” Annabell’s mother, Monica Gallegos, said.

Annabell’s face lines their living room, smiling all around them, forever frozen at 10 years old.

“Annabell’s favorite color was baby blue. She loved, like, looking at the sky,” Monica said.

Annabell’s twin sister Angeli is soft-spoken, but talking about her sister brought a smile to her face.

“She was always like...she was kind,” Angeli said.

Monica’s brother Jerry loved being the girls’ uncle. They loved going to his ranch and playing with the animals there.

“She was all into animals. She wanted to be a vet,” Jerry Gallegos said.

It still makes Monica smile thinking about the day she found out she was pregnant with twin girls.

“Their dad named baby A, which was Annabell. And then I named Angeli,” Monica said.

Annabell’s middle name is also special.

“So Annabell, um, since she was baby A, I wanted her middle name to be after my dad’s parents. They were both Guadalupe. I would call my grandma Lupe and my grandpa would call them Guale Guale,” Monica said.

Annabell used to help Angeli with her homework. They played Roblox together, and Annabell always had her back.

Monica said Angeli has been having dreams about her twin, evening seeing her in their room.

“It was Bell that came in and she told me, ‘Angeli, wake up. I’m here, I’m home already,’” Monica said. “I ask her like, ‘well how do you feel?’ And she just like, she’s empty, too, you know?”

Annabell’s older sister Anastasha didn’t want to show her face, but she said she’s angry about how Annabell and her cousin Jackie Cazares were killed.

“‘Cause they didn’t do anything that day,” Anastasha said tearfully.

Lidia Sanchez, Annabell’s stepsister, feels the same way. She knows when her two sons grow up they’ll only know their Aunt Bell Bell through stories.

“When he gets older I’ll tell him how much she was so excited about him and so happy and when she got the news that she broke down, I’ll tell my kids everything about her,” Lidia said.

Annabell is buried next to Xavier Lopez.

The two were inseparable since they were little and were so excited to be in each other’s class this year.

Just a few days into the school year, Annabell was so excited because Xavier asked her to be his girlfriend. They texted each other every night saying, “I love you.”

“They had their summer planned that they wanted to go to the river and they wanted to, um, their, his dad Abel would always barbecue and Annabell would always be like, ‘oh my God, my father-in-law is the best cook,’” Monica said.

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