HOUSTON – Tears of pain and cries of grief filled IHOP’s parking lot where family members of slain teenager Jaime Hernandez gathered in unimaginable agony Sunday afternoon.
"I feel so empty inside," one family member said.
Dozens of family members, friends, and even those just passing by surrounded the memorial to the 19-year-old. It was an emotional tribute.
"When I go to my sister's house and not see him, it's (going to) hurt me," Jaime's uncle Ino Train, said.
Hernandez clearly had touched a lot of lives.
"Each day, it was like 'oh, he's there,' and the next second, he's gone," Gabriel Marroquin said.
It happened early Saturday, when police said he parked in the IHOP parking lot, and was approached by a man demanding money from his paycheck he'd just cashed from Subway.
He tried to drive off, but the suspect shot and killed the teen.
Friends said he was a skateboarder to the core, but Hernandez uncle said he was so much more.
"Jaime was a very happy person, and everybody that saw him, he was always smiling. He was lovable. He loved kids," Train said.
Friends said that lovable teen may be now gone, but Hernandez will always be around.
"He's gone, but to me, he's not gone, because he was so kind. He lives on through me and a lot of people," Marroquin said.
Police are still looking for three individuals. The gunman is described as an African-American man in his early 20s with a gray hoodie. A second suspect is described as African-American male wearing a long-sleeve shirt and basketball shorts.
If you have any information, please call the Houston Police Department Office.