The city of Syracuse is still mourning the loss of the sixth-grade student Brexialee Torres-Ortiz, who police say was killed in a drive-by shooting on Monday. 

It was a somber Sunday, where community members, family and friends gathered at St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church to remember 11-year-old Brexialee. Her teachers say she was a student that shinned bright and her light will be missed.

“She was just that student,” said Vani Nair, Brexialee’s sixth-grade teacher at Syracuse STEM at Blodgett Middle School. “No one didn’t know Brexi. No one didn’t love Brexi. She was just this positive light in our classroom and in the school. Our middle school is sixth through eight and we’ve only had her from September to January and she’s already made such a difference in our lives.”

Before starting middle school at Syracuse STEM at Blodgett, Brexialee attended Seymour Dual Language Academy from kindergarten to fifth grade.

“So Brexi, on her first day of kindergarten she walked in, very independent, had a beautiful smile on her face, the same smile we all see in her pictures,” said Iliana Rosa, Brexialee’s former kindergarten teacher at Seymour Dual Language Academy. “She looked around and saw a lot of kids having those first-day jitters and she just started helping me around to get the kids acquainted to the classroom and become comfortable. At the end of the day, it was just a beautiful sight to see, all the kids were calmed down. That wasn’t the only day she did that, she did that through many years in our school building.”

“She was always there in a positive light not even for her classmates but for her teachers," Nair said.

“She was a child that no matter what she got into, the arts, basketball, tennis, celebrating birthdays, dancing, singing, cooking,” said Gloria Kimmich, Brexialee’s former kindergarten teacher at Seymour Dual Language Academy. “Brexialee loved it and she enjoyed it and had a great time. She spread that joy through all of us for many years.” 

“I’m just going to miss her a lot,” Nair said. “She was a role model.” 

“And she would say ‘I love you and you knew she meant it,” Kimmich said. “I can hear it now. I love you too, Brexialee.”