Family and friends of an Oakland teenager shot and killed while walking to soccer practice last month said their final goodbyes on Tuesday.
In a crowded church, friends, family and elected leaders filled the pews to honor 15-year-old Derbing Alvarado. Loved ones wore T-shirts, sweatshirts, and lanyards with Derbing's face on it and the words "Derbing’s world" – a tribute to the teen whose friends said always wanted his life to be remembered.
"He just wanted to be remembered, so we are trying our best to make sure everybody knows his name so that he will never be forgotten," friend Christian Flores Malagon said. "This world was for him, and to have him not be here anymore is heartbreaking."
For Kiara Alvarado, Derbing’s older cousin, the loss is still a shock – a reality she said her family is still coming to terms with. When it comes to justice, she said they won't feel peace until both suspects arrested for Derbing's death are tried and convicted as adults.
"He's never going to get to graduate, go to college," Kiara said. "He had so much potential, and he was robbed of that. He had so much more to show everyone. It's messed up that now we don’t get to see him. I just want justice. I think we all do. We are never going to find peace with this."
The packed service, with standing room only, happened just feet away from Derbing’s high school. School officials said they are continuing to work to support students.
"Spreading peace and love in our community, that's all that matters," Cristo Rey De La Salle spokesperson Irania Cortez Valencia said. "These are children who are just starting their life. We really want to make sure that we push that to the rest of the community."
Loved ones hope Derbing, known for his humor and caring spirit, will be remembered as someone who left a lasting impact that will continue to live on.
"He shined this light whenever he came in the room, and that light changed anybody he met," Malagon said. "I want him to be remembered for that."
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