MIAMI — The mother of a 13-year-old south Florida girl who was fatally shot while riding a school bus with her younger sister said the child was “fun-loving, helpful, a happy girl,” according to a statement released by the family.
A 15-year-old boy was in juvenile detention Wednesday, charged with manslaughter after police say he took a gun out of a backpack and showed it to other students during the ride to school Tuesday. Investigators say he fired it once in an apparent accident, striking Lourdes Guzman.
The girl, known as Jina to her family and friends and identified as Lourdes Guzman-DeJesus on her Facebook page, died later at a Miami hospital.
“Feels like just yesterday I saw her running around in her Pamper, dancing and modeling for the camera,” said the girl’s mother, who identifies herself on Facebook as Ady DeJesus, in the statement. “Times and moments spent with Jina are memories I will cherish and keep in my heart forever.”
The boy also was charged with carrying a concealed weapon. He waived his rightto appear in court Wednesday morning and will remain in a juvenile-detention center. He is not being identified by The Associated Press because of his age.
Messages left with juveniledivision officials and the boy’s mother were not immediately returned Wednesday.
Eight other children were on the bus but were not harmed.
Front Section, Pages 7 on 11/22/2012