SANTA FE, Texas – Jared Black had just turned 17 three days before the shooting, and he was scheduled to have a birthday party on Saturday.
Instead, he was one of those killed in Friday's mass shooting, according to his stepmother, Damita Kilgore.
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Jared spent a memorable portion of last summer with his dad, two brothers and stepmom in California, according to family friend Elizabeth Ann McGinnis, who is serving as a spokeswoman for the family. McGinnis established a GoFundMe account on behalf of the family to help them pay for flights from their home in California for the funeral.
McGinnis told CNN she was with Jared's father when he received the news. His father "sat in misery for 13 hours not knowing if (Jared) was one of the victims," McGinnis said. "Then he got the devastating news after 6 p.m."