'I started breaking down:' Friends remember 15-year-old Calgary homicide victim
A 15-year-old girl shot to death in the northeast Calgary community of Martindale early Tuesday morning, has now been identified by friends and police as Sarah Alexis Jorquera.
Jorquera was a passenger in the front seat of a Ford Mustang around 1:30 a.m. Tuesday when she was shot and killed.
Police were called to the 200 block of Martin Crossing Crescent N.E. for reports of gunfire coming from a nearby alley.
Jorquera was shot while the vehicle was in an alley of the 300 block of Martindale Drive N.E. According to police, she was in the front passenger seat of the vehicle at the time.
Police say the driver did not sustain any physical injuries.
Calgary police investigate a deadly shooting in the community of Martindale on Tuesday, March 28, 2023.
Police say they have received several tips that suggest it was a targeted shooting, but that they are still working to determine if Jorquera was the intended target or a victim of mistaken identity.
The Calgary Board of Education confirmed Wednesday that Jorquera was a student at Crescent Heights High School. They said they're in the process of informing the school community and that supports will be available at the school Monday when classes resume following spring break.
SHATTERED BY THE NEWS
Stephanie Topolnicki lives in Spruce Grove, and said she was good friends with Jorquera.
The pair even lived together for the month of January this year in Calgary.
Topolnicki said she was at a friend’s house when she found out Jorquera had been killed.
“I was just about to go to bed, it was six in the morning and I got a call, (saying) you need to pick up,” said Topolnicki.
“I was like, okay, okay, I'll pick up. (Her sister said) 'Sarah's gone'. I was like, what do you mean? Maybe she just didn't come home but the sound of her sister's voice, and then I started breaking down.”
Topolnicki said she felt shattered by the news of losing someone she considers a little sister.
“I felt like I lost my sister and my best friend. It hurt a lot."
Jorquera and her friend Stephanie Topolnicki (Photo courtesy Stephanie Topolnicki)
Topolnicki said she has dealt with a lot of anxiety since Jorquera’s death.
“A lot of like unknown anger. I just want to know, why,” said Topolnicki.
"She didn't deserve that or anything and everyone knows that. But it's hard to not know what happened to your best friend that's been there for so long.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Orca calf that was trapped in B.C. lagoon for weeks swims free
An orca whale calf that has been stranded in a B.C. lagoon for weeks after her pregnant mother died swam out on her own early Friday morning.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
'I was scared': Ontario man's car repossessed after missing two repair loan payments
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
Powerful tornado tears across Nebraska, weather service warns of 'catastrophic' damage
Devastating tornadoes tore across parts of eastern Nebraska and northeast Texas Friday as a multi-day severe thunderstorm event ramped up in the central United States.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Trump's lawyers try to discredit testimony of prosecution's first witness in hush money trial
Donald Trump's defence team attacked the credibility Friday of the prosecution's first witness in his hush money case, seeking to discredit testimony detailing a scheme between Trump and a tabloid to bury negative stories to protect the Republican's 2016 presidential campaign.