El Paso baby whose parents died to protect him in shooting turns 1

The youngest survivor of last year's mass shooting inside an El Paso Walmart has just turned one year old.

Paul Gilbert Anchondo lived because his parents died protecting him.

On Saturday, the community turned out to show support for the little boy by giving him a drive-by birthday party.

"He's, uh, a symbol of, uh, the goodness that still came out of it because it brought everybody even more so together," said Joshua Hernandez, one of the motorcyclist who joined.

"The people from El Paso, friends of ours, the people that knows us, they all want to participate in celebrating his birthday today. It's very important for, for us, you know. It's his first birthday," said the boy's grandfather, Gilbert Anchondo.

Those who participated said they will continue to support Anchondo and his grandparents in the future.

"Word got out and a lot of the community reached out to us, wanting to be a part of this event," said motorcyclist Eduardo Prieto. "And to them, they felt that, you know, it was something important enough that they wanted to be a part of."

A shooter killed 23 people at that El Paso Walmart on August 3rd, 2019.

Since the Anchondos were among them, a stranger carried the baby to safety.

"We want him to remember that everybody here in the El Paso area and in our community is supporting him," said Anchondo's grandfather Gilbert. "That he's not by himself."