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The mother of a 13-year-old girl fatally shot on a private school bus in Homestead, Fla., in front of her little sister on Wednesday said she wants answers.
“How did it happen? How did he have it on him? How did nobody notice?” said Ady DeJesus during a press conference, as she cried and appeared shaken. “I want answers myself.”
Lourdes Guzman, 13, 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's 7-year-old sister, were on the bus at the time of the shooting, which appears to have been an accident.
Jordyn Alexander Howe, 15, was charged with manslaughter in the shooting and carrying a concealed firearm, authorities said. He waived his right to appear at a Wednesday morning hearing in juvenile court, where he was represented by a public defender.
RAW VIDEO on NBCMiami.com: Student Shot on School Bus in Homestead
Howe will remain at the Miami-Dade juvenile assessment center, a judge ruled. According to Miami-Dade Clerk of Courts spokeswoman Eunice Sigler, the state plans to prosecute Howe as an adult.
The judge set the next court date for 1:30 p.m. Dec. 11.
A telephone message left for his mother wasn't immediately returned.
Terry Chavez, a spokesperson for the Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office, wouldn't comment on whether anyone else would face charges but said they're still investigating the shooting.
"It's very complicated, there are a lot of things left to take care of," Chavez said.
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According to an arrest form, the children were on their way to school when Howe took the firearm out of his backpack and displayed it. The gun went off, hitting Guzman, a student at Palm Glades Preparatory Academy.
Guzman was airlifted to Miami Children's Hospital where she later died, police said. No other children were injured and Howe was immediately taken into custody.
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During Wednesday’s press conference, Ady DeJesus described her daughter as the “most wonderful girl in the whole wide world.” She said her daughter was very smart, nice and happy.
Students and parents arriving at Palm Glades Wednesday morning remembered Guzman as a girl who got along with everybody.
"She was like a sister to me," said seventh-grader Daniel LaRosa "Nobody would ever get in a fight with her." He remembered Guzman as being funny and having trouble with division in their math class.
"I just know it's gonna be different. Like, I'm not seeing her anywhere else ... that's just a nightmare," LaRosa said. "I just know I gotta stay up and don't put my head down."
Henry Martinez, an eighth-grader at the school, said he didn't know Guzman but brought white balloons to school to release in her memory. "I care," he said.
"It's sad," said one father, who only gave his first name, Robert, as he dropped his daughter off at the school. He said it was hard to explain the shooting to his daughter.
At the site of the shooting, friends made a small memorial for Guzman, leaving flowers, candles, stuffed animals and messages for the teen.
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Plantagenet posted “maybe it’s a black thing”. Too bad race is on your mind in this tragedy. The shooter is not Black and was not a student at the charter school or any of the sister schools as the principal said in the video.
Google Image the shooter’s name and you will see the shooter in handcuffs; boy looks “white” to me ...
Don't really care what color the boy is, I was being facetious in the first part of that post.
People always jump to conclusions before all the facts are not in and blame everybody and their dog while sometimes making excuses for the person who did the deed.
I'm tired of hear nothing about the owner of the firearm, they need to go to jail as well for not securing his or her weapon, they should be put on trail as well and face the same punishment. I have to firearms and both have trigger locks and are in a safe where only i have access , there is no excuse.
And what may I ask are those firearms for? I'll surmise hunting and/or target shooting. Please don't say home defense.
However, it doesn't indicate where the perpetrator obtained the firearm. What would you say if he found it while on his way to school and the girl attempted to take it from him. She also apparently had a minor reputation of sorts:
People avoid fighting with one who has the reputation of being a bad-ass.
Personally, there are too many unanswered questions to note much more than I have previously.
My very sincere condolences to the victim and her family.
Wow 9mm. Your speculation and rationalizations are extreme and cruel to a family who is grieving the loss of their loved child you are running at the mouth about. You need psychological help dude.
Kamaaina
Your reading comprehension ability is lacking.
I was making a comment to Tom which is irrational as he wants to hold the parents of the purported perpetrator responsible when all the facts are not known. Which additionally led into the statement about her apparent, IN THE ARTICLE, reputation, as others "didn't want to fight her".
You also fail to read the entire statement as I fully noted my condolences to the victim and her family.
So do you really want to seek psychological help yourself, or just a remedial English class or two?
You interpret "nobody would ever get in a fight with her" disparagingly as she had a "minor reputation, rather than she was well-liked. Condolences ring hollow after that slight to a recently killed daughter. But then, don't insecure, paranoid gun toters see evil that isn't there?
@Kamaaina
Obviously you have an issue with my screen name and avatar.... I notice you never made any cynical snide remarks to my post below which was the FIRST post I made, on this thread. You're a TROLL trying to bait someone into a verbal altercation to further your own agenda and disdain for those of us who own and carry firearms.
To you and yours, have a wonderful and SAFE Thanksgiving.
How does a kid get on a school bus and not be a student at that school?
The bus drops the kids off at different public charter schools. Just like how some of the buses for summer school works. They pick up kids from one location and will take them to 2 or 3 schools for their education. I took summer school in high school to get a head start and the bus I rode in the morning would make a stop at one high school and then head to the other high school I was attending for summer school. Some charter schools have the same contract agreement for privately owned buses.
I would like to know why the school told the kids not to talk to the media and I would also assume parents since they refuse to give info out. Why not give a letter to all parents informing them what happen so they would know the truth and no hear say from kids...if my kids where on that bus I would want to know what was going on.
Because the investigation is ongoing. This is not television, cases are not wrapped up in and hour.
BuzyMOM,Maybe they aren't sure yet what the truth is of this tragic event.It is outrageous that a kid who is not of legal age was possession a gun in the first place.The young victims's mother's issue of the truth and any legal lawsuit would be with this young man's parents and not the school.
"the state plans to prosecute Howe as an adult". Political posturing, anyone? 15 years old; if this one is an adult, then they are all adult at 15, absent any signs of retarded (in the original sense) development. But the State - or the posturing DA - wants it both ways. Okay, then you must also grant ALL 15 year olds adult privileges. You know, like buying booze, having sex, driving cars, owning and carrying guns . . . . Either that, or admit you let political ambitions, bias and discrimination overrule equality under law.
It doesn't work that way. The cases are evaluated on a "case by case" basis. The D.A. is merely keeping his/her options open. Give this thing some time.
The fact is there is no way Lourdes would be dead from an "accidental" strangling or an "accidental" beating so yeah, guns do kill people, intended or not. Because gun control only is allowed to be discussed after something bad happens (or NOT), the fact that the US has hideous gun death statistics gets swept under the rug & gets worse. Believing there is nothing that can be done about it is plain low IQ.
Alcohol sitting on a counter cannot kill either but picked up, destroys millions of lives & families will deny it to the bitter end. The intention behind picking up the glass or the gun is what needs to be looked at.
Poking fun at anyone who believes games, movies, music etc play a part hasn't changed a thing has it? It's ludicrous to think something/anything has ZERO effect.
After watching Roy Rogers shoot it up with a pop-gun on a Saturday I could have had the idea guns were no big deal. Fortunately I knew exactly where my Dad's rifles were and stood right by him while he shot them & knew how serious they were. Maybe if Jordyns parents had faced reality & taught him, she would be alive. Spread your wings angel.
As far as I know, only in America do we limit the rights of 15 year olds but then allow them to go to trial with the possibily of life. I have mixed feelings about this subject. Most 15 year olds know that they should not commit crimes yet day after day, I see in America such children showing blatant disregard for laws and blantant disrespect for elders. Some 15 year olds need more consequences than can legal be given before they will get the point - that they need to respect laws just as adults need. We lock these kids up. Other places cane them; etc. I guess all in all, I am thankful my dad used the strap and I am better for it. Thank you Dad.
When I was a child, if I did something I had been warned against, I would get a switching (learned some dance steps) The second occurrence would result in a trip to the woodshed. Now of course, one must not perform anything other than maybe a serious "time-out" A child of fifteen has a great lack of reasoning abilty.... fear of a whipping might cause them some real thinking before the deed?. But then, what do I know?
Beating a child is not the answer. Fear of a whipping did cause me to do some real thinking. I spent a lot of time thinking about how I was not going to get caught.
I think it's the dumbest thing in the world to try to teach a child not to use violence by using violence on them.
Lee, if you consider a "switching" a beating, you are mistaken. My grandmother was renowned for saying "Go fetch me a switch" Shortly afterwards, she would hug us and say "It hurt me more than it did you". My folks, (most of them) gave me love AND discipline! Some children respond well to corporeal punishment. Not one of the nine children, twenty-some grandchildren, the (I can't count that high sans exponents) and cousins enumerable ever went to jail. But the well educated P-science persons tell me it causes violence exhibitions later in life.
Pooh! Say I!
As someone in another state that knows a girl that fit the exact description yesterday when this happened on the news websites, I was frantic at finding out more information to the girls identity. I am very thankful that it was not the person I know, but I am very sad and sorry that this happened to anyone. Children should be safe at school and on buses to and from the school. If I were the mother, I would want many answers too. May this young girl rest in peace and my thoughts are with her younger sister who was on the same bus to see such a terrible event happen to her sister. Everyone should hug their children and tell them they love them, because the next news story could be our very own family as I thought this one was but yet hoping for the best that it would not be. I hope her family knows how much everyone else is thinking of them in this time of tragedy, even many states away.
JoAnn,I agree JoAnn but the school can only be so safe.As long as their are 15 year old's with parents like this young man's then school will never be 100% safe.My Mother knew where very cent of our allowances went,who are friends were and what we had in our room.If every parent raised their children like my mother did then schools would be safe again.Parents are not their kids friends and that is the problem in society today.
The answer she is looking for can only come from this kid and his parents.My condolences to this mother and hr immediate family.
Too young to have her life taken like that. It will be interesting to find out where this kid got the gun and why he would have it on him when he was going to school. Scary...
Many prayers to the families of both of the kids!
If a kid has it in him/her to kill, not in self defense, but just to kill, then that kid has it in him/her to suffer an adult punishment, simple logic really.
A gun is a tool designed with one purpose, to kill. It is not a video game. It is not a toy. Since the NRA will not permit any limits on a tool specifically designed to kill, it is up to the adults in the US to start boycotting organizations which support the NRA and unlimited guns. Walmart comes to mind. They sell mostly Chinese goods anyway. The NRA is run mostly by paranoid, dysfunctional misanthropes like Lapierre who need the capacity to kill to prop up their own miserable lives. If only he had a backbone. Or a pair but he has neither. RuPaul could kick his butt with his fake boobs. He needs his guns to feel like the man he will never be.
What are you talking about the NRA placed limits on Machine guns, they in fact created the legislation that ended their production. They banned armor piercing rounds. What additional limits would have honestly saved this girls life?
http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/local-news/document-walmart-clerk-declined-to-sell-ammunition-to-man-who-fantasized-about-mass-murder
Bad Walmart! Baaaad!
I am 53 year old, and neither I nor anyone else I have ever known (that's thousands) have ever had a confrontation involving a gun - but I I know only one person who owns gun. I read these stories and realize - that is enough data for me to convince me - we don't NEED guns! - Guns are bad! Guns make good people bad! Those idiots who think that they need a gun to protect themselves are dilusioned into thinking that they will somehow get advance notice that the armed bad guy is coming - do I have to tell you: it doesn't work that way! And those idiots that use guns for hobby/sport - find another hobby/sport!!!
You sound paranoid Dave.
When I bought my first house, my next door neighbor said "Hi. My name is Dick. I have a gun". I said "Hi Dick. When the shooting starts, I'm shooting you first".
This tragedy happens again and again across the nation. People, especially teenagers who are unfamiliar with handguns inadvertently fire live rounds at their friends thinking the gun is not loaded. They drop the magazine from the handgun with the release button being unaware that there is one in the chamber. It takes very little pressure on the trigger if the hammer is cocked back. Responsibility lies with the gun owners for failing to secure their weapons from children. A gun safe, a trigger lock mechanism work very well. If you keep a loaded gun for protection in your nightstand and leave it unattended you are asking for trouble if you have young children. Its sad and i feel so sorry for everyone who has to deal with these tragedies.
15 years old. that boy knew better. How could he do such a thing? Worse yet....how did he get that gun? If the parents were responsible, they need to be punished.
When will people realize if you have a firearm in your home, a story like this, a story of tragedy is FAR MORE likely to happen than a story of heroics.
The parents ARE accountable- for their CHILD.
Another Travon Martin.
Where could you possibly have come up with a stupid comparison like that? The two cases are nothing alike.
It's more like another brainless gun kiddie showing off to his friends, or the girl he wants to impress and look powerful for. And you don't have to be a kid to be a brainless gun kiddie. They come in all ages.
Arrest the parents of that boy! They were too cheap to buy gunlocks or even noticed it was missing.
Who said the murder weapon belonged to the parents of the murderer?
The murderer's parents should be arrested- for being crappy parents.
It is sad, it is the society we have made, for profit.
The FBI estimates that there are over 200 million privately-owned firearms in the US. If you add those owned by the military, law enforcement agencies and museums, there is probably about 1 gun per person in the country.
Nov 18, 2012 · 3-year-old
in Port Charlotte dies in
shooting Detectives say the boy found an unsecured firearm.
NEW ORLEANS (AP) - A 22-year-old man has been arrested in the death of a
3-year-old boy who was shot in the face.
OAKLAND (KCBS) – A three-year-old boy was killed and two men were injured
in an apparent drive-by shooting in East Oakland Monday afternoon.
FLORIN — Sacramento County authorities say a 3-year-old boy died after he
was struck by gunfire while riding in a vehicle with his father.
The list goes on, and on.
In short, firearms are a high profit item, they create jobs, in more ways then one. Not a liberal point of view but a realistic view. Companys consider these deaths Collateral damage, nothing but numbers.
Myself I would ban all guns, that's not going to happen in America, It would be against constitutional rights.. and look at the jobs and profit that would be lost. So, America puts rights and profits before the life of children, so live with it. It happens everyday. Sing a few bars about how proud you are to be an American at a funeral, make the family's feel like Americans.
Doctors are 9,000 times more deadly than gun owners.
America's 700,000 doctors accidentally kill about 120,000 people a year.
America's 80,000,000 gun owners accidentally kill about 1,500 people a year.
But I don't hear the radical leftists getting their panties in a bunch to ban doctors, because it's not really the deaths that their concerned about- it's the control. And it's all fueled by their blind fear of an inanimate object.
No doubt in my mind this was 100% a hate crime...Al, Jesse..where are you? ;)
Live by the sword... die by the sword. I hope the right parties pay - especially the parents of that boy.
America has a sick obsession with guns.
In other countries, this headline would have never happened...
In America, the media is not ontrolled by the government.
the parents of the shooter should be held responsible if the gun was theirs!!what kind of parents have a gun and dont keep it locked up it horrible, and if there was a gun in the house WHY WASN'T HE TAUGHT PROPER GUN SAFETY!!! EVERY CHILD SHOULD BE TAUGHT GUN SAFETY!!!!!
I got a gun of my own when I was 16. My high school had a rifle club. No student at my school district was ever shot at any school activity. ( I qualified that because a girl a year younger was killed in a carjacking after she graduated, married, and moved to another state.) Of course I live in flyover country where nearly every household has at lest a shotgun and murder is rare. As everyone should know by now the murder rate is highest where infringements on the right of the people to keep and bear arms are most oppressive.
Like so many things there are no 'answers'. Sad and I hope somehow the family can recover.
Bring on Ted Nugent ! Now all you other kids out there in America packing a pistol on school buses smarten up.