A 14-year-old who was going to school in Florida when the shooting occurred last week was remembered by family and friends.
Martin Duque, a junior ROTC member, was the son of Mexican immigrants and leaves four siblings behind in addition to his parents, reported Local10.
The Miami Herald reported that Duque was a native of Coyuca de Catalán, a town in the state of Guerrero in southwest Mexico, citing Azteca Noticias.
The Mexican Consulate in Miami said that Martin’s relatives in Mexico were alerted to the death.
Libni Ortega, Martin’s uncle, told ABC13 that the family was distraught to learn the news.
“That happened in a place where you think it’s a safe place. A school. Shouldn’t be happening,” Ortega said.
“When my wife knew about that, she started crying and get sad. Start to feel bad. She let me know what was going on. I feel the same. I feel the same right now.”
It is with broken hearts that Sunrise Post 365 & Stoneman Douglas JROTC shares the loss of our soaring eagles! We honor them, and will miss their courage, tenacity, and their smiles! Cadet Peter Wang, Cadet Martin Duque, and Cadet Alaina Petty. May they always soar high! pic.twitter.com/eg0TKprzMV
— sunrisepost365 (@sunrisepost365) February 18, 2018
Martin’s brother wrote on GoFundMe that Martin was “sweet and caring and loved by everyone in his family.”
“My family and I have no words to describe the what we feel and the tragedy that we are living. All my prayers to the ones we lost and everyone who lived this horror and is traumatized. My family and I appreciate any help you can give,” he wrote.
“Your donations will help us cover additional expenses my family will face as a result of this tragedy, such as bringing both of my grandmothers from Mexico for the funeral (the women who raised us while our parents were living in FL before saving enough money to bring us over too), housing our extended family during the funeral, and many other things.”
A supervisor at a local Starbucks, where people have been gathering to share grief after the massacre, told the Daily Beast that Duque was a good kid.
“I watched this kid grow up from the time he was in middle school,” Karina Orozco said, “We call him Junior, he was very sweet, very polite and outgoing. A friend to everyone.”
From NTD.tv
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