Teen shot, killed for headphones outside Miami school

Classmates honor Pedro Uriarte by wearing headphones to school

MIAMI – A teenager who was fatally shot while walking along a sidewalk in front of a Miami elementary school Sunday afternoon was killed for his headphones, friends and family told Local 10 News.

Miami police said Pedro Uriarte, 18, was walking near Paul Laurence Dunbar Elementary School about 3:30 p.m. when he was fatally shot by an unknown assailant.

Although police haven't revealed a motive for the shooting, his friends and family said Monday it appears the gunman was after Uriarte's headphones.

Uriarte was a senior at Miami Jackson Senior High School. A classmate and friend for half a decade called Uriarte "a good guy."

"All he wanted was to graduate," Abraham Zamot said, adding he was "very shocked" when he learned his friend had been killed.

Residents reported hearing five or six gunshots, but no witnesses have stepped forward to help police in their investigation.

"Today is a sad day for our community, it's a sad day for Jackson Senior High School and it's a sad day, particularly, for me," Miami-Dade County Public Schools Superintendent Alberto Carvalho said.

As students returned to class, many said they planned to honor Uriarte by wearing headphones.

Meanwhile, Uriarte's family members are asking the public to come forward with any information about the shooting.

"My son was not a bad person," father Manuel Uriarte told Local 10. "He was a very good boy. He was loved. A lot of kids have come from school to visit us and they are telling us that my son was not involved with gangs. I'm asking anyone with information to please help us."

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