ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Family members of a 16-year-old shot and killed at an east Orange County house earlier this week said they’re hoping for justice as they wait for the investigation to play out.
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“We’re just broken by this,” Migdalia Pagan said, flipping through old family photos. “16-year-old -- he’s a baby. He’s just starting his life.”
Deputies said David Vargas, a student at Timber Creek High School, was shot and killed in the early hours of Tuesday on Easton Street. Few details have emerged about what led to the shooting. So far, no one has been charged in connection to it.
Pagan said Vargas had been invited over to the house to meet a girl he knew. She said her friend’s daughters – who lived nearby -- heard two gunshots, followed by screaming. Pagan said the friend called her daughter to talk about the shooting, not realizing the victim was the daughter’s son.
Read: Deputies identify boy, 16, shot to death at Orange County home
She said Vargas was shot in the head.
Wednesday night, Pagan gathered her family and David’s friends around the fountain in downtown Avalon Park to pay tribute to the teenager. The crowd listened to his favorite song and praised his work ethic and his positive attitude.
“Always gave me the most positive energy, called me Tio, accepted me as one of his own,” one of his uncles said. “I love him, and I miss him.”
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Deputies said they didn’t have any additional information about the shooting or the investigation to release when WFTV reached out Thursday.
Previously, the agency’s spokesperson said all people at the house during the shooting remained there and were cooperating.
“We cried so much,” Pagan said, calling for an arrest. “We’re a very close family… he’s a good kid.”
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