NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Family, friends, and the Nashville community are left grief-stricken by the loss of Josselin Corea Escalante, whose life was cut short by a shooting at Antioch High School Wednesday.
Community members gathered for the 16-year-old’s funeral on Sunday, Jan. 26 at Church of God Casa de Restauración.
“I remember I would see her in the hallway…a good girl just laughing with her friends,” said Antioch High School student Edwin Melgar.
Mellisa Esquivel remembered Escalante as someone everyone enjoyed being around.
“She was a very smart and fun girl to be around with. She was very pretty. Everybody liked being around her because of her energy. She had very good things to say about other people. She was very outgoing,” Esquivel told News 2.
Escalante’s loved ones described her as a compassionate girl who had dreams of becoming a doctor.
Escalante’s family set up a GoFundMe to help with costs associated with the funeral and with sending her body back to Guatemala. Meanwhile, the owner of Middle Tennessee Caskets donated a casket for Escalante, which was filled with medals of her accomplishments and a pair of soccer cleats.
“We just don’t want to keep coming to funerals of friends that we have lost,” Esquivel said.
Public leaders, including Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell, Metro Police Chief John Drake, and several Metro Council members, attended the ceremony, along with some Antioch High teachers.
While mourning the loss of their classmate and friend, students are focused on preventing another tragedy from happening at school.
“We don’t feel safe,” Melgar said.
Smyrna High School student Alyxandra Rivera told News 2, “We’re hoping that there’s more regulations and more protocols put in place.”
“Metro Schools just need to start putting some work in and making sure that we feel safe because we don’t feel safe at all,” Esquivel added.
Antioch High is set to reopen to students on Tuesday, Jan. 28. The school will also pilot a new Evolv weapon detection system to increase safety with minimal disruptions, according to officials.
