Family and friends gathered Monday afternoon for the funeral of a 13-year-old girl fatally shot on a private school bus in Homestead last week.
The funeral for Lourdes Guzman-DeJesus will be held at Caballero Rivero Woodlawn at 11655 SW 117th Avenue in Miami.
A 15-year-old boy has been arrested and was being held at Miami-Dade's juvenile assessment center on charges of manslaughter and carrying a concealed firearm in Guzman-DeJesus' death, authorities said.
"It was one of those things you can't even put into words. It's immense. I can't even describe the pain that one feels," said relative Waldermar Arent.
According to an arrest form, the children were on their way to school when the boy took the firearm out of his backpack and displayed it. The gun went off, hitting Guzman-DeJesus.
Based on the findings so far, "it appears to have been an accident," Miami-Dade Police spokeswoman Aida Fina-Milan said.
Guzman-DeJesus was taken to Miami Children's Hospital, where she later died, police said. No one else was injured, and the boy was taken into custody, officials said.
Guzman, known as Jina to her family and friends, was shot while riding a private school bus about 6:45 a.m. Tuesday in the area of Southwest 296th Street and Southwest 137th Avenue in Homestead, police said. Eight other children, including Guzman-DeJesus' 7-year-old sister, were on the bus at the time of the shooting.
The girl's mother, Ady DeJesus, has described her daughter as the “most wonderful girl in the whole wide world.” She said her daughter, a student at Palm Glades Preparatory Academy, was very smart, nice and happy.
According to Miami-Dade Clerk of Courts spokeswoman Eunice Sigler, the state plans to prosecute the boy as an adult.
