Victoria Soto: ‘She was a hero’

Devoted teacher Victoria Soto died shielding her tiny first-grade students as a gunman stormed her classroom at Sandy Hook Elementary School, her family said yesterday.
“She was a hero honestly,” said James Wiltsie, Soto’s cousin and a Fairfield, Conn., police 
officer. “Vicki was in a classroom huddled in a closet protecting her children. Her 
instincts kicked in to protect her kids.”
Soto, who celebrated her 27th birthday last month, was the 
eldest of three sisters and a brother, and lived with her mother and siblings in Stratford, Conn., where she grew up, 
according to Wiltsie.

A pretty brunette who loved the beach and dreamed of 
becoming a teacher since childhood, she commuted 45 minutes to Sandy Hook and took classes at Southern Connecticut State University toward a master’s 
degree after working long hours in the classroom, Wiltsie said.
Wiltsie said Vicki’s father learned of her heroics from Connecticut State Police.
“It brings the family peace to know that Vicki was in her classroom with her kids, putting herself between the suspect’s bullets and her kids, protecting as best she could, as best she knew how,” Wiltsie said.
He said her family and 
beloved black Labrador, Roxie, are inconsolable.
“Her mom just told me the dog is walking in circles. It’s sad,” Wiltsie said. “There’s so many unanswered questions. The grieving process is going to take time.”
Source: http://bostonherald.com