A SPANISH woman teaching at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, southern Florida sheltered from gunman Nikolas Cruz with five pupils in a cupboard, according to her mother.
Patricia Rivas bundled the kids into the closet when she realised what was happening.
“It was during after-school classes, so the majority of pupils were elsewhere and only five were with Patricia,” said the brave teacher's mother Violeta Puerta.
“At first, she thought it was a drill, because they had recently had one.
“But she quickly realised it was for real.
“Luckily, the classroom door was shut, giving her and the children time to seek shelter, since otherwise the killer would have seen them.
“My daughter has calmed down now, but she had a really bad night, plagued with nightmares.”
One of the 17 confirmed dead is a girl in Patricia's Spanish and French classes.
When she no longer heard any shots fired, Patricia crept out of the cupboard and finally let the children out when she knew the coast was clear.
“That moment was like an eternity to them,” revealed Violeta, who immediately sent a text message to Patricia when she heard the news of the mass shooting.
“I didn't ring her, though, in case her ring tone attracted the killer's attention,” Violeta explained.
She learnt about the multiple tragedy via the TV news, but at first, did not realise it was her daughter's school because 'so many things have happened in the USA that I wasn't paying attention'.
However, when she saw the images of the school, Violeta realised it was Patricia's since she had been there in the past.
Fortunately, Patricia replied to her text shortly to reassure her mother that she was fine, but this did not stop her worrying, and she was unable to breathe easily until her daughter had spoken to her on the phone.
“She couldn't call me until the police left, as they had to take the teachers to another part of the school to identify everyone.”
Two children were so frightened they tried to run away instead of following officers' instructions, but the killer – a former pupil aged 19 who had been expelled - had not yet been caught and shot the pupils dead.
Patricia Rivas, 40, was born in Calahorra in La Rioja and was teaching at a school in Lodosa, Navarra when she decided to seek a year's unpaid leave so she could go on a gap year and 'experience something different' – which led to her travelling to Florida last August.
She has been at the Parkland school ever since, but has no plans to leave as a result of the massacre.
“At the very least, she wants to finish off the academic year there; it's a beautiful place,” says Violeta.
Patricia has been through some hazardous moments since her move across the pond, including Hurricane Irma in September.
