As the class of 2015 look ahead to their future, one South Florida high school is remembering those whose lives were tragically cut short.
Miami Jackson Senior High awarded diplomas Tuesday to the parents of two former students who never got the opportunity to graduate, Pedro Uriarte and Bryan Herrera.
Graduation day is a joyous time for families and students, a time to celebrate a great accomplishment. But emotions were even more poignant during Tuesday's graduation ceremony at the Arsht Center, as two families were awarded diplomas for their children who had been killed.
Sadly it's an example of the kind of violence South Florida youngsters are being exposed to far too often.
It was a day of dreams of what could have been for the families of Pedro Uriarte, who was 18 when he was killed last November while walking near a Miami elementary school and Bryan Herrera, who was gunned down in 2012 at the age of 16 while riding his bike in broad daylight.
Uriarte's dream was to become an accountant and Herrera was a straight-A student. Both families were given the diplomas their children would have received had they lived to see this day.
These families hit by tragedy are unfortunately not alone.
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This past Spring, the family of 16-year-old Jarvis Henderson got the terrible news. Henderson was a good student and by all accounts a good citizen. He was shot and killed in April while walking his girlfriend home.
According to the Miami-Dade School Board and the medical examiner's office, 63 students have died as the result of violence, since 2008. In just the last three years, 50 youngsters under the age of 17 have been homicide victims, 37 of them male and 13 female.
Henderson's classmates at Edison High made a banner to express their condolences. His parents are still left asking why.
"He never bothered anybody, he always tried to help his friends," said his mother, Lasheika Henderson.
Meantime, police are still trying to track down the killers of Pedro Uriarte and Bryan Herrera. If you have any information about any of these crimes, call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-TIPS.
