A teenage boy faces charges including manslaughter after fatally shooting a 13-year-old girl on a private school bus in Homestead Tuesday in front of her sister and other students, Miami-Dade Police said. On Tuesday evening, mourners gathered at the scene of the shooting. Guzman's best friend, Isabel Paillere, told NBC 6 South Florida her friend is very missed. (Published Tuesday, Nov. 20, 2012) 
 
 A teenage boy faces charges including manslaughter after fatally shooting a 13-year-old girl on a private school bus in Homestead Tuesday in front of her sister and other students, Miami-Dade Police said. 
 
 Police said the 15-year-old boy also faces a charge of carrying a concealed firearm, police said. 
 
 Students and Parents React to Fatal Shooting of Girl on Private School Bus 
 
 A 13-year-old girl has died after she was shot on a private school bus in Homestead Tuesday morning in front of her little sister and other students, police said. The principal at at Palms Glades Preparatory Academy said the private bus was contracted by parents. (Published Tuesday, Nov. 20, 2012) 
 
 Authorities said the shooting appears to have been an accident, and it is likely that no one else will face charges. 
 
 The girl, who was identified as Lourdes Guzman, was airlifted to Miami Children's Hospital after the 6:45 a.m. shooting, and she later died, Miami-Dade Police said. It wasn't immediately known where she was shot. 
 
 Girl, 13, Fatally Shot on School Bus Identified 
 
 A 13-year-old girl has died after she was shot on a private school bus in Homestead Tuesday morning in front of her little sister and other students, police said. Miami-Dade Police spokesman Alvaro Zabaleta spoke about the crime. (Published Tuesday, Nov. 20, 2012) 
 
 The incident happened while the two were en route to school, police said. The boy took out the firearm from his backpack and then began displaying it, according to the arrest form. 
 
 "The defendant discharged the firearm one time shooting the victim," an officer wrote in the affidavit. 
 
 Raw Video: Police Talk to Media About Fatal School Bus Shooting 
 
 Watch raw video of a police press conference on Tuesday after a girl was fatally shot on a school bus. (Published Tuesday, Nov. 20, 2012) 
 
 Police said the boy was also a student, and that the firearm was recovered at the scene. 
 
 About eight other children were riding the bus when the shooting happened in the area of Southwest 296th Street and Southwest 137th Avenue, Miami-Dade Police spokesman Alvaro Zabaleta said. The other children were not injured. 
 
 RAW VIDEO: Student Shot on School Bus in Homestead 
 
 Police say one student is in custody after he shot another student on a school bus in Homestead Tuesday. (Published Tuesday, Nov. 20, 2012) 
 
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 "They were able to immediately determine that the shooting occurred inside the bus, and that the alleged shooter was also inside the bus," Zabaleta said. "He was immediately taken into custody. He was detained, placed in a police car. We were able to recover the firearm." 
 
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 The girl had a 7-year-old sibling on the bus as well, police said. All the other children were transported to the Homicide Bureau for questioning. 
 
 On Tuesday evening, mourners gathered at the scene of the shooting. 
 
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 "It was heart wrenching to know this could have been anybody," said parent Heather Manuel. "Just a year younger than my daughter and in my son's class." 
 
 Guzman's best friend, Isabel Paillere, told NBC 6 South Florida her friend is very missed. 
 
 "I just miss her a lot already, it's only been a few hours," she said. "I hope she's in a better place right now." 
 
 Meanwhile, parents picked up their children from Miami Police headquarters in Doral after they were interviewed. A mother who would only give her name as Luby said she was happy her child was alive and glad to have her back. 
 
 RAW VIDEO: Student Shot on School Bus in Homestead 
 
 The victim was a student at Palms Glades Preparatory Academy and the younger sibling attended Summerville charter school, police said. 
 
 Meanwhile, at Palm Glades parents showed up to see how their children were doing. Some of them were very emotional. The principal of the school said the private bus was contracted by parents. 
 
 The bus company, Yelimar and Portieles, wouldn't immediately comment. 
 
 Lynn Norman-Teck, a spokeswoman for Florida Consortium of Public Charter Schools, said the bus was servicing three schools: Somerset Academy Silver Palms, Palm Glades Preparatory Academy and Summerville school. . 
 
 She added that Somerset had called in grief counselors for the children at school as a precaution, and once the school administration heard about the shooting, the principal went to the classrooms to make sure the children were OK. 
 
 Fabian Otero said he was relieved his son Christian, an eighth-grader at Palm Glades, rode to school with his wife. He said he and his wife have been shaken by the killing and are going to discuss enrolling their son in a different school or possibly homeschooling him. 
 
 "I was stunned! I was stunned!" he said. "That hits really close to home. That's just scary." 
 
 Many of the students had not heard about the shooting and the school did not make an announcement before school was dismissed, but word started to trickle out as they walked outside to waiting school buses. 
 
 Thirteen-year-old Eric Carillo said he was in the same class as the victim a few years ago. 
 
 "She was a good girl. She was fun," the 13-year-old said. 
 
 Sarah Baer said she wouldn't let her daughter walk home from school because there are rough neighborhoods a few blocks away. 
 
 "I always take my daughter to and from school. This is so heartbreaking especially right before Thanksgiving," she said. 
 
 The school bus was not equipped with video surveillance equipment. 
 
 Maria Romero is a mother whose two girls were on the bus. 
 
 "I was worried the whole time, but when I got here and they're OK, it's a big relief," she said. 
 
 Earlier, Romero said her two children, and other children on the bus, were talking to police about the shooting. Some of the kids were put into a Miami-Dade Police van. 
 
 Some parents picked up their children and brough them to school. Shortly after the incident, several backpacks could be seen next to the school bus. 
 
 Check back with NBC 6 South Florida for updates. 
 
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 Copyright Associated Press / NBC 6 South Florida 

 A 13-year-old girl was killed by another student on board a school bus in Homestead Tuesday morning. The shooter is in custody. 
 
 Lourdes Guzman-DeJesus hopped onto her bus Tuesday morning, but never made it to school. 
 
 The cheery 13-year-old, who loved music, dancing and art, was accidentally shot and killed by a fellow student who had carried a gun onto the school bus. 
 
 Miami-Dade police late Tuesday charged 15-year-old Jordyn Alexander Howe with manslaughter and carrying a concealed firearm. On Wednesday morning, he had his first court hearing. Howe will be held in a juvenile detention center until Dec. 11, when prosecutors will announce whether he will be charged as an adult. 
 
 The teen did not appear at the hearing. His mother and stepfather appeared briefly so that Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Angelica Zayas could appoint the public defender to represent him. 
 
 On the way to school Tuesday, Jordyn pulled the gun out of his backpack and displayed it, according to an arrest affidavit. The gun went off once, striking Lourdes in the neck. 
 
 She was flown to Miami Childrens Hospital, where she died. No one else was injured. 
 
 Lourdes and her younger sister were among eight students on the private bus bound for three Homestead area charter schools: Palm Glades Preparatory Academy, where Lourdes was a student; Summerville Advantage Academy, which her sister attended; and Jordyns school, Somerset Silver Palms. 
 
 The shooting occurred about 6:45 a.m. as the bus was traveling at Southwest 296th Street and 137th Avenue in Homestead, according to Miami-Dade police. The gun was recovered at the scene. 
 
 An 11-year-old girl on the bus immediately used her cellphone to call her mother. 
 
 Im very lucky she was OK, her mother told reporters at the scene. 
 
 Other parents flocked to Palm Glades to pick up their children. Grief counselors were also at the school. 
 
 Jordyn was taken to Miami-Dade police headquarters where he provided a sworn statement, the affidavit said. On Tuesday night, he was taken to Miami-Dade Juvenile Assessment Center. 
 
 Detectives spent the day gathering evidence and trying to interview the students at the headquarters in Doral. Miami-Dades homicide unit is in charge of the case since Homestead does not have homicide detectives. 
 
 Obviously, they are very traumatized, Miami-Dade police spokesman Alvaro Zabaleta said of the children who witnessed the shooting. 
 
 Im scared 
 
 At Palm Glades, Gilberto Canino came early to pick up his two children. 
 
 I still havent been able to cope with it, he said. I dont understand how this could happen. 
 
 Im scared, said Ruth Otero, whose son, Christian, is in eighth grade. She said he walks to school but she was still worried at the news of the shooting. 
 
 The bus service is operated by Yellimar & Portieles. A man who answered the phone there said he couldnt talk because he was at the police headquarters being questioned. 
 
 Lourdes was born in New Brunswick, N.J. Her mother, Ady DeJesus, works as a recreation director for Coral Reef Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Miami. 
 
 In a statement, DeJesus described her daughter as a beautiful angel who made the honor roll at school and loved her little brother and sisters. 
 
 Feels like just yesterday I saw her running around in her Pamper, dancing and modeling for the camera, she said. Times and moments spent with Jina are memories I will cherish and keep in my heart forever. 
 
 Her daughter always had lots of love to give and plenty of love given to her, she said. I have and always will be proud of her. 
 
 DeJesus thanked everyone for their concerns and prayers, saying her family appreciated them. 
 
 On Tuesday night, a woman who answered the telephone of Karla Guerra, identified by police as the shooters mother, declined to be interviewed. 
 
 Palm Glades Preparatory Academy and Palm Glades Preparatory High School opened this year on the same campus at 22655 SW 112th Ave., serving students in grades six through 10. Summerville serves students in kindergarten through fifth grade. 
 
 Those three schools are managed by Charter School Associates, based in Coral Springs. 
 
 The Somerset network includes 34 charter schools in Florida, Nevada and Texas. The schools are managed by Academica, a Miami-based charter school management company. The Silver Palms campus at 23255 SW 115th Ave. is home to two schools serving students in kindergarten through 12th grade, records show. It is one of three Somerset sites in South Dade. 
 
 Saddened 
 
 Somerset Principal Kerri Ann OSullivan said, We are terribly saddened by this tragedy. Our hearts and prayers are with the victims family and everyone in our community impacted by this tragic event. The safety and well being of all students is of paramount importance to us. 
 
 Ken Trump, a national bus safety expert who has trained South Florida school bus drivers, said they are taught the mechanics of driving vehicles, but need more training in other areas like crisis management, building relationships with kids and intervention. 
 
 School bus drivers are often the first and last employees to see a student on a school day, he said. 
 
 Violence and conflict that happen in schools often start in neighborhoods and communities and the bus drivers are often going to be the first ones at risk of encountering that. 
 
 Besides resources like security monitors and cameras, basic and ongoing training is needed for school bus drivers, whether they work for a district, charter or private company, he said. 
 
 Miami Herald staff writers David Ovalle, Diana Moskovitz, Kathleen McGrory, Chuck Fadely, Scott Hiaasen and Luisa Yanez contributed to this report.
– Miami-Dade police have a boy in custody who they say shot a 13-year-old fellow student on a school bus this morning. The victim has been airlifted to Miami Children's hospital; her condition isn't known, NBC Miami reports. She was reportedly shot in the neck, the Miami Herald notes. The bus was en route to a K-12 charter school campus; counselors from other campuses have been sent to help.