Jared Black, who was killed in a shooting rampage at a Texas high school, is being mourned in Southern California, where he has friends and family.
Jared turned 17 just three days before the shooting, and had planned to celebrate with a birthday party Saturday, according to his stepmother Damita Kilgore.
He was among the 10 killed at Santa Fe High School, southeast of Houston, on Friday. At least 13 others were wounded.
“It’s hard,” said Nick Black, Jared’s brother, on Saturday in Anaheim. “I still don’t believe it happened. It’s horrible.”
Jared spent a memorable portion of last summer with his dad, two brothers and stepmom in California, according to family friend Elizabeth Ann McGinnis, who is serving as a spokeswoman for the family.
Jared loved art, video games and wrestling, the family said.
McGinnis established a GoFundMe account on behalf of the family to help them pay for flights from their home in California for the funeral.
“I can’t believe it’s hitting so close to come,” McGinnis told KTLA.
McGinnis told CNN she was with Jared’s father when he heard about the shooting at his son’s school.
His father “sat in misery for 13 hours not knowing if (Jared) was one of the victims,” McGinnis said. “Then he got the devastating news after 6 p.m.”
