https://www.wftv.com/news/local/boon...-say/890748694

Destiny Gonzalez had no idea it was one of her friends who had been shot and killed Tuesday morning, as word spread at Boone High School that a joyful and smiley 15-year-old sophomore died on his way to school.

Gonzalez, 16, switched from Boone to a different school about a month ago and hadn?t spoken to Alejandro Vargas Martinez since she left. It wasn?t until she got in her car after school, swiping through another friend?s Snapchat story, that she realized he was the one killed about 6:30 a.m. that morning.

?When I saw it, I covered my mouth and I just started crying. I got home and I cried all day. ... I stopped crying when I went to sleep,? said Gonzalez, who added she knew Alejandro for two years.

Orange County authorities are still working to find out what led to the fatal shooting, offering up to $10,000 as a reward for information that can help them identify the killer or killers.

Alejandro Vargas Martinez, 15, was shot and killed on his way to Boone High School on Dec. 18, 2018. (Orange County Sheriff's Office) Wednesday afternoon, the Sheriff?s Office released surveillance footage of a four-door Sedan the agency said could be linked to Alejandro?s death. Anyone with information on the slaying is asked to call Crimeline at 1-800-423-8477.

Officials have not released information about potential suspects or a motive.

Meanwhile, Alejandro?s family and friends are still reeling from his unexpected death. They?ve set up a makeshift memorial at the scene of the shooting, East Kaley Avenue and Waldo Street, with candles of the Virgin of Guadalupe and other saints, fresh flower bouquets and personal messages.

Gonzalez left a candle with a photo of her next to Alejandro and clipped a letter to a nearby fence, which surrounds Kaley Elementary School.

?I don?t want to believe it. I wish I can hug you one last time and tell you I love you with all my heart,? she wrote.

The shooting has rocked the Orange County Public Schools community, which has since set up the Alejandro Vargas Memorial Fund to assist the family with Alejandro?s funeral services and ?other unexpected costs related to his death.?

Earlier Wednesday, Alejandro?s family created a GoFundMe page, which had raised over $2,000 by later in the day.

The Orange County Sheriff's Office is trying to identify the car seen in this security footage, which was described as a "vehicle of interest" in the kililng of 15-year-old Alejandro Vargas Martinez. ?Alex was highly intelligent, surprisingly funny, respectful, helpful, caring and always full of life,? Dolka Martinez, Alejandro?s aunt, wrote on the GoFundMe page. ?There is nothing that can ever explain the loss of a beautiful child at such an early age.?

Ariana Perley, a 14-year-old Boone High student, said the school had counselors available to students all day Wednesday, and several of her classmates seemed visibly upset throughout the school day.

?I don?t believe it. It could?ve been any of us,? Perley said. ?I just hope the person who killed him gets found.?

Another of Alejandro?s classmates, 19-year-old Tyrese Nunnally said he met Alejandro this Fall.

?He was a good kid. He was always around school smiling. ? He was a fun kid to be around,? Nunnally said. ?He didn?t have no enemies or anything like that.?

Gonzalez said she was equally confused about what could?ve led anyone to harm Alejandro.

?I?m just like confused if he was at the wrong place at the wrong time for something like that, because there?s no way I would ever thought this would happen,? she said. ?I never lost anybody. ? People don?t understand what to actually know him feels like.?