A small casket carried out the front door of St. Stephen Episcopal Church in Columbia Heights bears something greater.
"Oscar, we will miss you," said fourth grade teacher Charles Roberts. "We will miss your quiet demeanor, your kind heart, a spirit that would not soon depart."
It is the weight of grief. The heavy hearts of family members, friends and complete strangers came together to mourn 9-year-old Oscar Fuentes.
"This little boy, everybody knew him," said one mourner.
Oscar was shot in his Northwest Washington home last Saturday. Police said a suspect tried to rob his family, the fired into the door when they ran into their apartment.
Oscar was on the other side of that door, looking through a peephole.
Police have arrested a 26-year-old man, Joseu Pena of Hyattsville, Md. for the shooting. Family members said the arrest brings some comfort, but their hearts are still broken.
It's a sentiment echoed by city leaders. "When you looked at that small coffin, and the young man laying in there," said District of Columbia Mayor Adrian Fenty. "It's just too young of a person to die in this way."
