Veronica Garcia, far left, and her husband Alan Garcia, second from left, greet friends and family during the public viewing for their daughter, Lilly Garcia, in Albuquerque, N.M., Monday, Oct. 26, 2015. Garcia was killed last week in a road rage shooting on an Albuquerque freeway. (Roberto E. Rosales/The Albuquerque Journal via AP) MANDATORY CREDIT
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) – Lilly Garcia rarely said goodbye.
Instead, the 4-year-old with bright eyes and a big smile often told others "see you later," her family said in an obituary recalling the girl's love for blue Icees and reading time.
On Tuesday, hundreds of people joined her parents to mourn her death last week in a road rage shooting.
About 300 friends and relatives filled the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Catholic Church in Albuquerque for a funeral Mass for Iliana "Lilly" Rose Garcia on Tuesday, a few wearing T-shirts with "Justice for Lilly" written on the back. "Love for Lilly" was scrawled on many vehicles.
Deacon Michael Illerbrun described her as a happy child who laughed often.
Her father had picked up Lilly and her brother from school Oct. 20 when he got into an argument on a highway with another driver, who opened fire on the family's pickup truck. Lilly was shot in the head. She had just finished her second day of preschool.
"Iliana had just completed her second day of school at Duranes Preschool before she was tragically taken away from us," the family said in the obituary. "Lilly enjoyed singing, dancing, talking with everyone and made friends everywhere she went."
She also liked to take selfies and talk over FaceTime with her grandparents in Nevada, according to her obituary.
Her funeral comes a week after police say a man got into an argument with Lilly's father over a lane change, and opened fire, shooting the girl in the head, police said.
Police arrested the man, identified by police as 31-year-old Tony Torrez, a day later and said he confessed to the crime. He faces charges for murder, assault, child abuse and other crimes, and is being held on a $650,000 cash-only bond.
At a candlelight vigil, hundreds of people gathered Saturday in downtown Albuquerque, hearing from Lilly's parents, Police Chief Gorden Eden and others.
"I would ask that your anger not to turn into hate, but your anger to turn into action," Eden said Saturday. "There's absolutely no reason for a 4-year-old to lose her life in such a manner."
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