TORONTO – A woman in Florida shocked a courtroom Tuesday when she hugged the 16-year-old who shot and killed her daughter.
Jordyn Howe accidentally shot 13-year-old Lourdes ‘Jina’ Guzman-DeJesus in the neck two years ago when he was showing off his stepdad’s gun on the school bus the two were on.
The girl was rushed to a children’s hospital where she was pronounced dead.
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Howe accepted a plea bargain Tuesday that was allegedly orchestrated by Jina’s mother, Ady Guzman-DeJesus.
After Howe pled guilty to the accidental death, Guzman-DeJesus approached him in court and hugged him.
“I’m sorry,” he told her.
The plea deal saves Howe from going to prison. He will instead spend a year in a juvenile detention facility and then spend time talking to groups about the dangers of guns.
Guzman-DeJesus told reporters she believes it’s what her daughter would have wanted.
“We can make a change to help other children,” the Miami Herald quoted her as saying. “That was Jina’s friend, too, and I know she wouldn’t want the worst.”
“I miss her and I really do forgive him,” she said.
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