Brother of Bellaire HS shooting victim gives emotional speech at vigil

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — The brother of the Bellaire High School student, who was killed at school Tuesday, was brought to tears as he addressed the crowd at a community vigil.

READ MORE: Bellaire High School shooting suspect charged with manslaughter, victim identified

Dylan Cortes spoke to the hundreds who gathered at Evelyn’s Park in Bellaire Wednesday night. His brother, Cesar Cortes, was shot to death. Cortes was a 19-year-old senior and active in JROTC.

“I cannot begin to say how much I’m grateful to see all of you here. Not only was I overwhelmed to see all of you, it fills my heart to know my brother is looking from above right now, watching all of us, watching all of you pray for him and be here for him. I will miss him and he did not die in vain,” Dylan said through tears.

The crowd clutched candles and leaned on each other.

“Every student, even if I don’t know them, means everything to me,” said sophomore Emma Urban.

“I think this is a desperate situation, catastrophic and we should all join together as a community and pray. That’s why I’m here. To pray,” said Lorraine Lewis of Crosspoint Church, one of the churches that helped organize the vigil.

“Hopefully, we find strength and uplift with our community coming together,” Bellaire Mayor Andrew Friedberg said.

“It will be hard, but I think we’ll get through it,” student Rebecca Abebe said.

Classes will resume Thursday. Bellaire High School will be implementing special conditions and security measures.

According to an HISD email sent to parents, all students will have to enter the school through one single-entry point, beginning at 7:15 a.m.

Students will have their bags checked by Bellaire H.S. administrators and students will not be allowed to leave campus for lunch.