The community in Parkland, Florida buried the last victim of the deadly school shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas Senior High School that saw 17 people killed earlier this month.
Martin Duque was remembered as kind and loving person who was ‘always smiling’ and had a knack for making friends.
‘He quickly became one of my greatest friends — no question,’ an emotional Jose Hoyos told the Miami Herald on Sunday.
Martin Duque (Pictured) was remembered as kind and loving person who easily made friends and who was ‘always smiling’
Mourners hug and console each other outside the funeral of shooting victim Martin Duque from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on Sunday, February 25, 2018
Having moved to Parkland from Mexico nearly three years ago, Hoyos said that the transition to his new life in America was made easier with Duque’s friendship.
‘Martin knew what it was like, so he approached me, taught me some English, invited me to play soccer and introduced me to some friends. He didn’t ask any questions,’ said Hoyos.
Duque was one of 17 victims murdered by confessed shooter Nikolas Cruz (pictured), who admitted to storming his former high school on February 14 with an AR-15 semiautomatic rifle
‘He just wanted to make me feel at home, loved and accepted… I’ll never forget his friendship.’
Duque was one of 17 victims murdered by confessed shooter Nikolas Cruz, who admitted to storming his former high school on February 14 with an AR-15 semiautomatic rifle.
On Sunday, Duque, 14, was the last of Cruz’s victims to be laid to rest, according to the Miami Herald. A member of the JROTC, Duque was buried with full military honors during a private ceremony in Pompano Beach.
‘He was sweet and caring and loved by everyone in his family,’ wrote one of his four siblings, Alex Duque. ‘Most of all, he was my baby brother.’
Before being laid to rest, mourners celebrated Duque’s life during a private funeral service in nearby Coral Springs. Friends and family recounted memories of the teenager’s kind demeanor and infectious smile.
‘We’re choosing to honor him, to remember the good parts of his life,’ said fellow schoolmate Vincent Hernandez.
On Sunday, Duque, 14, was the last victims of the Parkland school shooting that saw 17 murdered to be laid to rest
‘Having survived the shooting, I definitely feel newfound purpose. Martin’s death and this tragedy has let me see things differently. In a short time, I’ve learned to love things while I still have them, not afterward.’
According to the Miami Herald, Duque was born in southwestern Mexico in the state Guerrero.
Duque and his siblings where mostly raised by their two grandmothers while his parents worked in Florida, struggling to save enough money to have the whole family reunited in Parkland.
A cousin of the murdered teen later told the Miami Herald that the Duque family has suffered many tragedies over the years, with at least six members meeting violent deaths over the years.
‘The family has been assassinated by crime in Mexico,’ Marilu Hernandez Duque told the Florida publication.
‘Martin is the seventh death, also from violence. I cannot understand why this keeps happening. I hope that this does not continue and that they do something to make the violence vanish.’
Before being laid to rest, mourners celebrated Duque’s life during a private funeral service in nearby Coral Springs