At Least 2 Dead, 8 Injured in Saint Louis School Shooting 2:48 (CNN) — Jean Kuczka and Alexandria Bell were about to celebrate major milestones in their lives.
Alexandria, 15, was looking forward to traveling to Los Angeles to celebrate her 16th birthday, her father Andre Bell told CNN affiliate KSDK. “My daughter was planning to come here to California and celebrate her birthday with me on November 18,” Andre Bell told CNN affiliate KSDK. “But now we have to plan her funeral.” Kuczka, 61, was preparing to retire after a long and illustrious career as a teacher, her daughter Abigail Kuczka told CNN. But an inexplicable shooting at Central Visual and Performing Arts High School in St. Louis shattered those dreams and tore apart the families of the victims. Alexandria Bell, left, and Jean Kuczka Credit: Andre Bell / Kuczka Family Teacher Jean Kuczka Died Defending Her Students One of Kuczka’s colleagues, Kristie Faulstich, said the slain teacher died protecting the students from her. During the rush to evacuate students from the school, “one student looked at me and said, ‘Mrs. Kuczka was shot.’ And then she said that Ms. Kuczka had gotten between the attacker and the students,” Faulstich said. . Alexis Allen-Brown said she was not surprised to learn that one of her favorite teachers from her high school had died trying to save her students. “When I found out, my first thought was … that she cared a lot about the students,” Allen-Brown said. “She was going to save those babies.” Kuczka often used inspirational quotes that she believed in, such as “Before you are anything, you are human. And every human being deserves respect,” Faulstich recalled. Kuczka, a health and physical education teacher, was preparing for her retirement in the coming years, her daughter Abigail Kuczka said. “Jean was passionate about making a difference and she enjoyed spending time with her family,” her daughter said in a statement sent to CNN. Allen-Brown, now in her 20s, was one of the former students who fondly recalled Kuczka’s impact on her students. “She had a good heart. She was sweet. She always made you laugh, even when you tried not to,” Allen-Brown said. “She made you feel real, in and out of class. She made you feel human. And she was so sweet.” In her biography on the school’s website, Kuczka said that she had worked at VPA Central High School since 2008. “I believe that every child is a unique human being and deserves an opportunity to learn,” she wrote on the her biography. A talented dancer who “made everyone laugh” Alexandria was a member of the Saint Louis Dazzling Diamonds dance group. Her dance partners created a poster of Alexandria’s image that is now part of a growing memorial in front of the school. Monument in honor of Alexandria Bell, who was murdered weeks before her 16th birthday. Credit: CNN Her friend Dejah Robinson said the two planned to celebrate Halloween together this weekend. “She was always funny and always had a smile on her face and made everyone laugh,” Robinson said, fighting back tears. Robinson, who attends another school, said she wants lawmakers to act on gun control. “They know what’s going on and they could have done something,” she said. “But it’s clear they’re not doing anything and they won’t.” The father of the murdered teenager said that her daughter had the ability to make any day the best. “Alexandria was everything to me. She was joyful, wonderful and just a great person,” Bell told KSDK. “She was the girl I loved to see and loved to know about. No matter how I felt, I could always talk to her and she was fine. She was my baby.” But, at the worst moment for her father, she won’t be able to be there for him. “I really want to know: How did that man get inside the school?” Bell told KSDK. “He’s a nightmare,” she said. “I’m very upset. I need someone, the police, people in the community, whoever, to make sense of this.” — CNN’s Amanda Jackson and Paul P. Murphy contributed to this report.