Pregnant teen slain in Henrico is laid to rest

Wazira Harris died too soon.

Her family hopes the loss can become a community's gain.

The pregnant Highland Springs High School senior, who was shot to death April 27 trying to escape an eruption of violence in an apartment complex near her school, was buried yesterday at Oakwood Cemetery after a funeral at St. Paul's Baptist Church.

"None of us should be here today," the Rev. Lance D. Watson, pastor of the Creighton Road church, said in his eulogy. "There should not be a casket with an 18-year-old in the middle of this cathedral.

"We should not feel this pain. We shouldn't have to endure this moment. None of this should be happening. It's all wrong."

The family urged peace and healing in a community marred by much violence in recent years.

"We pray for the persons who committed this act and their families," Harris' family said in a statement sent to the news media, which they invited to cover the funeral. "We ask, through her death, young people will think about the consequences and choose a positive alternative."

Harris had received certification in cosmetology from Highland Springs' Technical Center and hoped to become a nurse.

Instead, family and friends gathered graveside around her pearly pink casket as a train whistled mournfully in the background.

Henrico County police have charged Brandon T. Garlick and James A. Jones with second-degree murder and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony.

"Satan almost got me," her father, William Harris, said at the service. "When I heard the news, I almost wanted to take revenge.

"People probably say, 'Since you loved your daughter so much, you must hate this young man.'

"No, I don't. I can forgive him. I'm sad also for the young man's mother. She lost a son. She's going to grieve because he made a mistake.

"We're all in this together."

Alvin Hill, president of Highland Springs' senior class, said students have talked about the tragedy. "[The violence] is pointless," he said. "There's so much more to life."

Contact Lisa Crutchfield at (804) 649-6362 or .