Hundreds of people, including dozens of law enforcement officials, attended the funeral for Yvette Velasco, one of the youngest victims killed in the Dec. 2 mass shooting in San Bernardino, Thursday afternoon.
Velasco was at the training and holiday luncheon at the Inland Regional Center when Syed Farook and his wife, Tashfeen Malik, barged in on the gathering and opened fire on his San Bernardino County Department of Public Health coworkers. Family members told KTLA Velasco was expected to receive an award during the gathering.
The husband and wife sprayed the conference room with gunfire, killing 14 and injuring 21 others in what the FBI is investigating as an “act of terrorism.”
The funeral for the 27-year-old woman was the first for a victim of the deadly rampage.
Velasco was laid to rest at the Forest Lawn in Covina, located at 21300 E. Via Verde St., according to a GoFundMe page set up to pay for the slain woman’s funeral.
Forest Lawn confirmed to a KTLA photographer that services were scheduled to begin at 2 p.m.
Some 500 people were invited to the private ceremony, and dozens of people in uniform could be seen in attendance.
One officer confirmed that Velasco was related to a California Highway Patrol commissioner.
Velasco has been described as “intelligent, motivated and beautiful” woman by grief-stricken family members, who say they are devastated over her sudden death.
She was “full of life and loved by all who knew her,” her family said in a statement released to the Los Angeles Times. “We are devastated about what happened … and are still processing this nightmare.”
A family friend offered his condolences during the ceremony.
“It’s just tragic and it’s unspeakable, the pain,” Chuck Franklin said. “We just want to say, God bless you. … We love each and every one of you, and you’re in our thoughts and prayers.”
Velasco, a native of Fontana, had worked as environmental health specialist for the county since 2014, according to records obtained by the Times.
She is survived by her parents and three sisters.