The father of the Uvalde school shooting victim says his daughter is "excited" to go to junior high school

Vincent Salazar III's daughter, Leila Salazar, was killed when a gunman opened fire on Tuesday at Rob Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas.

As family and loved ones mourn the heartbreaking deaths of the 19 children and two adults who died at Rob Elementary School earlier this week, a father tells of an "extraordinary" daughter lost in the tragedy.

On Tuesday, an 18-year-old gunman in a bulletproof vest rammed his car into a ditch near a school in Uvalde, Texas, then - after passing police - entered a classroom and locked himself inside, killing 21 people.

Vincent Salazar III: Where do we start? He is a firecracker. It's great to be there. Never get bored with it-the cutest girl. On Mother's Day, she sent TikTok to all mothers and wished everyone a Happy Mother's Day. She said, "Even if you're not my mom, Happy Mother's Day."

He loves to dance on TikToks; he loves to swim. But his favorite hobby is running. He's pretty good at it. We recently had a field day. We had three field days, and he was first in all of his events: 100 yards, 75 yards, and 75 yards hurdles. But that's three, you know, three years apart. It was his last year, but he had never lost a race for first place every time. So we were waiting for him to come to junior high school for the track, and it's all because he's excited.

He is willing to go to the nearest school because at the nearest school; you get a locker. And he is ready for it. So he said, "Oh, I'll do that with my locker," and this and that. And obviously, that didn't happen. But he's just something special. So very special.