REVERE, Mass. — A teenaged woman walking to her car after a night of dancing is gunned down. Police say she was an innocent victim. Now her devastated friends are reliving what happened. The victim was a 19-year-old from Revere who was celebrating her birthday in Providence.
There was a steady stream of people coming to the 19-year-old’s home on Monday offering their condolences to her family and adding to a growing memorial. They're still trying to make sense of what happened as police a state away track down her killer.
For friends of 19-year-old Berta Pereira-Roldan, the grief is overwhelming.
"She cared about everyone else but herself and was always there for me, always," said Alexis Chafin, a friend of Pereira-Roldan.
The recent Revere High graduate went with some friends to Providence Saturday night to celebrate her birthday. They still can’t believe what happened at the end of the night.
"We were actually in front of the car and she was telling me that she had a good time and she doesn't go out, and she was hugging me, and that's when we heard gunshots and I just saw her fall and lay there," Chafin said.
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Pereira-Roldan was shot and killed just before 2 a.m. Sunday near where she had parked her car on Detroit Avenue in Providence.
Another woman, 38-year-old Crystal Peloquin of North Providence, was also shot several times but is expected to survive. Both were walking to their cars after a night out dancing and police do not believe they were targeted.
Investigators in Providence say Peloquin may have stopped to talk to two men who may have been the shooter's intended victims. But investigators believe Pereira-Roldan did not know any of them and was just walking by.
"She did nothing but love everyone around her, she was nothing but caring, she was nothing but a hard worker," said Laura Suarez, another friend of Pereira-Roland. "And she saved up this whole summer to go to community college, and for her to get taken like that was so unexpected."
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The 19-year-old had just started studying psychology at North Shore Community College.
"She has a loving little sister that she loved to death," Suarez said. "She loved her family and it's just tragic that she got taken from us like this."
Revere Public Schools sent out a statement offering their condolences and also saying that they will have grief counselors available Tuesday if anyone wants to stop by and talk to someone.
The Revere Public Schools community is greatly saddened by Berta's tragic death. She was a wonderful student with a bright future. Our hearts and prayers are with her family and friends in this very difficult time. Counselors will be available tomorrow to assist current students and recent graduates who may be struggling with this sudden loss.
Pereira-Roldan just graduated from Revere High earlier this year. There is also a GoFundMe set up in her memory.
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