[First Lady]

Victoria Soto: Sandy Hook teacher who wanted to mould young minds

A teacher who died trying to protect her children in Sandy Hook school has been described as a dedicated educator who had her dream job.

Victoria Soto, 27, was one of six adults and 20 children killed in the elementary school shooting on Friday.

It is thought Soto died trying to shield her students. According to a cousin, Jim Wiltsie, a police officer, said the family had been told that Soto was attempting to get her class into a closet when the gunman entered the room. "In our eyes, she's a hero," Wiltsie told ABC News.

"She was trying to shield, getting her children into a closet and protect them from harm. And by doing that put herself between the gunman and the children and that is when she was tragically shot and killed."

Connecticut Shooting: Hero Teacher Died Saving Students

Out of the chaos and horror emerged an incredible act of selflessness and bravery by one teacher who spent her final moments trying to protect her young students from harm.

Victoria Soto, 27, a first-grade teacher at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., ushered her students into a closet, and in so doing placed her body between them and the assailant.

"She was found huddled over her children, her students, doing instinctively what she knew was the right thing," her cousin Jim Wiltsie tells ABC News. "I'm just proud that Vicki had the instincts to protect her kids from harm," he continued. "It brings peace to know that Vicki was doing what she loved, protecting the children, and, in our eyes, she's a hero."