'In shock': 18-year-old victim of shooting at FWB Rec Center remembered as a 'happy guy'

FORT WALTON BEACH — Sean Yadriel Burgos-Jimenez, 18, had graduated from high school and was looking to start a new chapter of his life when he was shot and killed outside the Fort Walton Beach Recreation Center on July 7.

Amy Fereira and her husband befriended the Burgos-Jimenez family when they moved to Fort Walton Beach from Puerto Rico about 13 years ago. Fereira has been close friends with Burgos-Jimenez’s mother, Joselyn, ever since.

Read more about the July 7 shooting: Police: 2 teens allegedly shot, killed 18-year-old at FWB Rec Center during armed robbery

And: Police investigate shooting in parking lot of Fort Walton Beach Recreation Center

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“We helped the family find a house and everything with their new start here in Fort Walton Beach,” Fereira said. “His mother, she’s in shock right now. He was her last baby. He was the minnow of the family. The father and mother are really, really close to Sean.”

Burgos-Jimenez was the youngest of three children. Fereira described him as a “happy guy” who could always crack a joke and had a warm smile.

Although he had his own set of troubles sometimes, he stayed very close with his family. When his now 4-month-old son was born, Fereira said Burgos-Jimenez began looking to around turn his life.

“When the baby was born, all his life turned to the baby,” she said. “He tried to do something with his life when the baby was born. He wanted to start a new chapter of his life. He tried to find a good job and everything. He (went) to church every Sunday.”

Fereira said she and Burgos-Jimenez’s family learned more of the events that unfolded July 7 from people who were at the Recreation Center on Jet Drive that day.

According to Fort Walton Beach police, Burgos-Jimenez arrived there in a car with two 15-year-olds, identified as Brandon Lee Lanieux of Fort Walton Beach and Trevor Brown of Houston. Burgos-Jimenez was the driver.

While inside the car, the two suspects made an “illegal transaction,” police said. Brown and Lanieux allegedly armed themselves and robbed Burgos-Jimenez of two loaded firearms.

Burgos-Jimenez tried to stop them as they ran from the vehicle. He struggled with one of the suspects over a firearm and several shots were fired. Burgos-Jimenez was shot in the chest and collapsed in the parking lot.

A softball team from Houston reportedly had been at the Preston Hood Athletic Complex next door during the shooting.

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One of the parents of a player on the team ran to the parking lot after hearing gunshots, Fereira said. He began administering CPR on Burgos-Jimenez and called 911.

“They’re doing CPR on Sean, and when he touched his hand, Sean said ‘Help me, help me’,” Fereira said while recalling the conversation. “The guy, the father of the team softball player, said he tried to help, but everything passed really fast.”

Responding officers took over life-saving measures, according to the Police Department, but Burgos-Jimenez was pronounced dead by EMS personnel at the scene.

Although devastated by the loss, Fereira said Burgos-Jimenez’s mother still feels sympathy toward the families of the two 15-year-old suspects, Lanieux and Brown, who are charged with armed robbery and felony murder.

“She told me ‘Amy, I can’t feel anything. I just put everything in God’s hands,' ” Fereira said. “It is sad because three lives were lost. Three families right now (are) crying. And I know because she’s gone to church all her life, I know she feels that. She said ‘I can’t feel anything bad about those kids.' ”

Several other people have reached out to share their stories and condolences for the family after Fereira created a GoFundMe page to help them cover funeral expenses. As of Wednesday, 76 people had donated, raising $3,795 of the $9,000 goal.

“It’s a lot of help for the family, and not just that,” Fereira said. “A lot of people send me messages and ask me, ‘Can we meet in Destin or Fort Walton. I need to give you a check for the young family.’ People we’ve never met, and really that is good. The community is filled with this.”

A public memorial service is planned for Friday.  To find out more information or donate to the GoFundMe account, visit https://www.gofundme.com/f/sean-jadriel-burgos-jimenezfuneral-expenses.

“I feel really grateful for all the donors and they are saying a lot of love to the family. That is good," Fereira said. “The mother and father of Sean are really sad. It’s a difficult, hard time."

This article originally appeared on Northwest Florida Daily News: Shooting at FWB Rec Center: Family grieves victim, GoFundMe started