Students in a B.C. community sought comfort in each other Monday as they grappled with the brutal death of their classmate this weekend.
School was out at Burnsview Secondary School in Delta, a suburb of Vancouver, but students gathered there to remember 15-year-old Laura Szendrei, who was beaten in a wooded area of Mackie Park on Saturday afternoon.
By all accounts, Szendrei was a model student -- on the honour roll, on the soccer team.
"She was the toughest on the team despite her size," Megan Talaber, one of Szendrei's former teammates, told CTV Vancouver. "She was so funny."
Police still don't know whether the teen was the victim of a targeted attack, and would not confirm reports the teen was struck in the head with a baseball bat. Autopsy results are expected in the coming days.
The investigation continues, with officers combing the park and canvassing the surrounding area.
Authorities have said they are looking for a person of interest.
"What we're hearing from police is that either around the time of the attack or shortly after, there was a young male between 16 and 25 years old wearing cargo shorts and seen either speaking on the phone or texting in the area of the park," CTV Vancouver's Rob Brown reported on Monday afternoon.
"Police are looking for that person to come forward," though they are not calling him a suspect, Brown said.
Meanwhile, a Facebook page set up as a memorial for Szendrei has been overrun with insensitive and offensive comments, to the shock of her family and friends.
Delta police said Monday they are disturbed and disgusted by the comments.
With a report by CTV's Rob Brown and files from The Canadian Press
