They were honor roll students and artists and musicians. They made TikTok videos and played sports with their friends. They dreamed of bright futures: growing up, going to college, starting a family.

Nineteen children and teenagers have died in homicides and accidents involving guns this year in Harris County, according to the Institute of Forensic Sciences. The toll is on pace to exceed the death count from each of the past four years.

These are the stories of the young lives that have been lost.

Jan. 11, 2022: Diamond walked her dog to a local park in southwest Houston to meet with the 17-year-old boy she had recently been dating. She had found out, according to police, that he was in a relationship with someone else. Suddenly, neighbors heard rapid gunfire as the boyfriend shot Diamond to death. Her dog, Peanut, walked home alone. Diamond, a sophomore at Madison High School, was an honor roll student who played volleyball and basketball, according to a GoFundMe. The outgoing girl was adored by many friends. She loved to dance and her favorite color was purple. After graduation, she planned to attend cosmetology school.

Jan. 18, 2022: Haley was a creative teenager who enjoyed reading, painting and creating her own jewelry, according to her obituary. She was compassionate, fun-loving and whimsical. She was killed by her brother in a double murder-suicide in a Crosby home, according to the Harris County Sheriff’s Office.

Jan. 18, 2022: The homeschooled teenager was looking forward to things near and far in her future: Graduating from high school, applying for colleges and becoming a social worker. Instead, she was killed in a Crosby home in a double murder-suicide involving other teenagers, according to the Harris County Sheriff’s Office. Kadience was creative, according to her obituary. She loved cooking and baking, drawing and painting, Spiderman and Harry Styles.

Jan. 18, 2022: Angel, born in Houston, was a dear son, brother, grandson, nephew, cousin and friend, according to an obituary. He leaves behind his parents, a brother and sister, and many more loved ones. “Angel will be remembered with much love and affection by all those with whom he shared life,” the obit said. The teen died from a gunshot wound following a shooting that was declared an accident by the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences, according to the agency.

Feb. 3, 2022: Darius was a happy boy who left a positive impact on people. He was smart and polite, a neighbor said. He made the honor roll at Cobb Sixth Grade Campus and played percussion in the band, according to an obituary. Outside of school, he loved performing TikTok dances and playing Fortnite with friends. He worked on his basketball skills at the YMCA and got competitive during flag football games at his apartment complex. That’s where he was on a cold winter night when a 19-year-old man began shooting in the parking lot. The gunman was apparently aiming for someone else, but the bullets struck the child as he was fetching a jacket from his mother’s car.

Feb. 15, 2022: Family members remembered Arlene as a confident, smart and mature girl with a pure smile. She loved her dog, Bo, and wanted to become a veterinarian or a doctor. She was a natural caregiver to her two younger brothers and loved giving her cousin manicures. “My daughter brought everybody together,” her father, Armando Álvarez, told the Chronicle. “She was always smiling. There is a glow in her that everybody could see.” The girl spent her last moments in the car with her family heading to a Valentine’s Day dinner at her favorite restaurant. She was killed when a man opened fire at the vehicle. The gunman told authorities he had been robbed at a southwest Houston bank and mistakenly thought he was shooting into his assailant’s getaway car. Arlene was wearing headphones and did not hear her father’s command to get down.

March 5, 2022: Bairon was looking forward to senior year at Cypress Park High School, but he never made it. The teen was shot in the head at a Katy shopping center in a confrontation with other teens, according to the Harris County Sheriff’s Office. Prosecutors charged a 13-year-old boy in connection with the death. Authorities said the boys did not know each other. Bairon was a good kid, said his father, Edwin Gomez. All he did was play soccer, lift weights and enjoy video games. He always cleaned the house before going out with his girlfriend. He made his family smile and “would always come up with something very funny,” his father said.

March 8, 2022: Said was a sweet and kind teen with a loving family, according to a gun violence memorial website where mourners posted comments. “He was such a beautiful person with a big heart,” one person wrote. “Your smile is missed every day at school,” said another. The teen attended Spring Woods High School in Spring Branch, according to the website.

March 16, 2022: Joshua, a junior at Eisenhower High School, was a reliable teenager who was always available to lend a helping hand, said Leticia Guardiola, a close relative. He was nurturing, too. The younger kids in the family adored Joshua -- he would chase them around the house or play video games with them. He was a big foodie who would eat anything, she said. The teen was killed during an attempted robbery outside a convenience store on West Little York Road in north Houston, police said. A 15-year-old boy was wounded by gunfire too. “Gun violence in this country is out of control, every day you hear of a new family who has lost a loved one as a result,” Guardiola wrote in a message to the Chronicle. “You are no longer safe in school, at the grocery store, or even walking home from the store in Joshua’s case.”

March 17, 2022: The boy who went by “JoJo” was a sweetheart, according to his obituary. While playing at home, he would run past his family members and yell, “I love you dad! I love you grandma! I love you grandpa!” In photos shared on the memorial website, JoJo sat with a pumpkin in his lap and leaned over a homemade gingerbread house and caught a big fish. He stood in a river with a Spiderman swimsuit and rode a horse. The boy was fatally shot while driving on the North Loop with two juvenile passengers, according to police. Authorities said it may have been a road rage incident, though many questions remain about the deadly incident.

March 20, 2022: Dominic had big dreams for his future, said his mother, Christina Partida. He wanted to get married, have kids, save money for a house and travel. He was shot dead near his home in Denver Harbor, a neighborhood in east Houston, according to police. Authorities have charged two 18-year-old men in connection with the death. Both of them were his friends, Partida said. Dominic was smart but hated school, his mother said. He loved football and basketball and hated drama and fighting. He was always there for his friends. He worked at Houston Grand Prix, an outdoor go-kart track with arcade games, and came home smelling like gasoline. Now, he’s buried at a nearby cemetery.

March 20, 2022: Robert was a momma’s boy and a protector for his 6-year-old and 6-month-old sisters, said Desiree Stewart, his mother. The teen got each of their names tattooed on his body and told them: “Y’all will forever be with me.” In many ways, Stewart said, her son lived the life of an older man. Robert, who went by Duke, was a new father to an 8-month-old boy named Ace. He helped fix old houses through a family business and enjoyed working on cars. People looked up to him because he was positive. The teenager was at a birthday party at an event space in south Houston when a fight erupted in the parking lot and several people began shooting, according to the sheriff’s office. Robert was killed and three other teens were wounded by gunfire.

April 11, 2022: There was never a dull moment with Theodore in the classroom, according to an old teacher. The boy was one of her favorite students, she wrote on a memorial website. He was smart, respectful and kind. In photos shared on the same web page, he posed in a baseball uniform, made a silly face on FaceTime and smiled with loved ones at birthday parties, baby showers and Christmas gatherings. The teen was dropped off at a northwest Houston hospital where he died from a gunshot wound, according to police. The location or circumstances of the shooting remained unclear, though the county medical examiner declared his death a homicide.

April 29, 2022: The sophomore at Nimitz High School had just joined the cheerleading team and she had big dreams for her future: a career in the Air Force. Lauren was a bright, respectful girl who did everything with a smile on her face, said her mother, Laurie Young. She loved painting, basketball and butterflies. Three years ago, her mother bought her a giant teddy bear for Christmas. Lauren named him Ted and told her older sisters they could not touch him. Now, the beloved stuffed animal rests in a keepsake box. A 60-year-old man who was dating the girl’s mother is accused of killing the teen while alone with her at an Humble residence.

May 5, 2022: Ryan, too young to have started school yet, loved to play sports with his brothers and cousins. They would play basketball at home or soccer at a park. The boy also loved to spend time outdoors with his 3-year-old Siberian Husky. "He would get sad when he couldn't play because it was raining," said Rubi Lupian, his mother. One morning, the boy got a hold of a gun that his uncle left on a dresser at the family’s home in Katy, according to court records. Ryan walked into a room where his two brothers were playing video games, his mother said, as the adults drank coffee in a different room. The boy’s 9-year-old brother tried to take the gun away, but as they struggled, it discharged. Ryan was fatally shot in the head.

May 7, 2022: Axel liked to go fishing, either in Galveston or in Florida, where his family would spend summers, his mother Clarissa Guzman said. The Lamar High School freshman also enjoyed exploring, swimming, playing football and the occasional video game. "He was very noble, very affectionate," Guzman said. "My son didn't deserve this but God has a plan. We want justice." About a month after the shooting and a month before what would have been the teen's 15th birthday, however, the family has received few answers about what led to the shooting. Axel was shot around 8 p.m. in the parking lot of his family’s apartment complex in west Houston, according to police. HPD described the shooting as a suspected robbery.

May 19, 2022: Kahadija was the daughter of Sadia Manzoor, a beloved community member and teacher at an Islamic elementary school, according to the Islamic Society of Greater Houston. Mother and child were killed by Manzoor’s estranged husband at their home in the Champion Forest neighborhood of northwest Harris County, according to the sheriff’s office. The man also shot to death his mother-in-law and then took his own life. The little girl sometimes played outside with another child who lived at the complex, a resident told ABC13. Neighbors brought flowers to a memorial site and mourned in the wake of the tragedy.

May 22, 2022: As a child, John would stash food under the bed -- earning him the nickname “Gordo,” according to his obituary. He never grew into the nickname but made up for his small stature with a big personality. He was the daredevil and comedian of the family, his obit said, often waking up the household early in the morning with loud singing. Police found the teen with fatal gunshot wounds roughly five miles from where he had been shot outside an Independence Heights residence in north Houston, according to police. A 44-year-old man has been charged with murder in connection with the death, according to court records.

May 26, 2022: Corde leaves behind his mother, stepfather, father and three brothers, according to his obituary, as well as many more friends and family. He was buried in Lubbock. “He was a bright and intelligent young man who was full of life,” the obituary said. The shooting that claimed his life happened early in the morning during some type of transaction, according to Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez. Corde was standing outside a residence in a suburb near Mission Bend with his brothers when someone dressed in black and wearing a surgical mask jumped from a sedan and opened fire, the sheriff’s office said. Corde died two days before his 16th birthday.

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