Family and friends began saying goodbye Wednesday to 14-year-old Emily Nevarez

Family and friends began saying goodbye Wednesday to 14-year-old Emily Nevarez.

Nevarez is the teenage girl police say was shot by her father before he turned the gun on himself.

Those who knew Nevarez said she’s missed now just as much as she was the day tragedy hit, May 5. People told ABC-7 she would light up a room and their farewells now aren’t their final goodbyes.

“She was a very nice person. She was a leader,” a seventh-grade classmate said.

“She was a very quiet individual but just her presence made people to want to know who she was,” godfather Guillermo Yanez said.

Those who attended the services said they are still in shock over the loss of Nevarez. When El Paso police were called to her east El Paso home they found the wounded teen and took her to a local hospital, where she later died. Detectives believe her father, 51-year-old Ramon Nevarez, shot her before shooting himself.

“I love her a lot. I miss her a lot, but I know she’s always going to be with me,” Nevarez’s best friend said.

Those close to Nevarez, even classmates, said it’s hard to fill the void. Along with missing her, Nevarez’s family is now in a lot of people’s prayers.

“Our faith is keeping us strong. We haven’t really broken down yet,” Yanez said.

The murder-suicide is the fourth involving family violence in the El Paso area this year.

Services continue Thursday with a mass at 11 a.m. at St. Pius X Catholic Church, 1050 N. Clark Drive. Nevarez will then be laid to rest at Mt. Carmel Cemetery on the 400 block of South Zaragoza Road.