11-year-old laid to rest; Josue Flores stabbed to death walking home from school

HOUSTON (FOX 26) - A somber day in North Houston as an 11-year-old boy is laid to rest.

He was attacked and stabbed to death while simply walking home from school.  So many people showed up to pay their respect, not everyone could fit inside the church.

It's always difficult to lose a youngster and even more so in this case. 11-year-old Josue Flores was simply heading home from Marshall Middle School when a grown man attacked him and stabbed him to death.            

People packed into Holy Name Catholic Church still in disbelief that the 11 year old is gone.

”It’s profoundly sad.  I don’t know what can be sadder than losing a child.  I can’t imagine,” says Houston City Councilmember Karla Cisneros.

Josue was walking home from school last Tuesday when witnesses watched helplessly as a man assaulted the 11 year old, stabbing him to death.  “It’s unacceptable.  There’s no reason for that to have happened,” adds Cisneros.

”It's such a tragedy. The future of a bright, young little boy was taken,” says Johnny Mata with LULAC.

A suspect, a homeless man, was charged but police say that man has been cleared and has an alibi.  Some in the North Houston neighborhood say something has to be done to clean up the community.

”It’s a fair number of halfway homes, homeless shelters and bunk houses.  The element needs to leave this neighborhood.  It’s just destroying the families that are here,” says resident Stella Mireles.   

The Davis High School Mariachi Pantera band performed at the funeral.

”This is like us sending our condolences to the family.  I know they’re in a huge amount of pain,” explains band member and Davis High School Junior Gabriel Molina.

”We would never think we would be playing for someone so young.  I feel like music is for the soul.  It helps heal,” explains Molina.

Healing is something the 11 year old's friends, family and the entire community need after such a tragedy.

Even more tragic?  His killer still isn't caught.  “We must find them.  We don’t know where they are and while we don’t know where they are there’s fear,” says Cisneros.  Many in the community say as long as this guy is on the loose they fear this will happen again.

There is a $15,000 reward offered if you help lead to the arrest of Josue’s killer.