{"id":18005,"date":"2025-10-22T16:07:07","date_gmt":"2025-10-22T16:07:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/18005\/"},"modified":"2025-10-22T16:07:07","modified_gmt":"2025-10-22T16:07:07","slug":"san-carlos-neighborhood-mourns-loss-of-12-year-old-boy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/18005\/","title":{"rendered":"San Carlos neighborhood mourns loss of 12-year-old boy"},"content":{"rendered":"

Community members lit candles at St. Andrew\u2019s Lutheran Church in San Carlos on Tuesday to grieve the loss of a 12-year-old boy killed while walking to school.<\/p>\n

Both the 350-person main sanctuary and 60-person overflow room were filled at the church, a few blocks from where the collision killed Andrew Olsen and injured his two siblings in the Lake Murray area of San Diego Monday morning.<\/p>\n

It was standing room only, as people of all ages filled the walkways, hallways and overflow sanctuary spaces.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was just so intelligent, full of energy and a very good conversationalist,\u201d said James Elmore, a family friend. \u201cHe came to my birthday party last month, and he was a joy. He\u2019d just walk into a room and the whole place would just brighten up.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was always joining different groups because he had this contagious smile that had a positive effect on everybody,\u201d Elmore added.<\/p>\n

\"AliciaAlicia O\u2019Neill and her daughter Aurira, 4, fill out prayer notes. (Sandy Huffaker \/ For The San Diego Union-Tribune)<\/p>\n

The candlelight community prayer service was marked by personal testimonials about Andrew, interwoven with messages of faith and on dealing with grief. In addition to parents and children from the community, the event \u2014 which was centered on experiencing loss \u2014 was attended by multiple clergy members and school administrators.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur entire school community has been deeply impacted by what has happened,\u201d Pershing Middle School principal Melanie Kray said during a tearful speech. \u201cI will do everything I can to support your children through this in the coming days.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to Pershing seventh-graders Bennett Kennedy and Ryan Sitz, Andrew was known as a nice kid who got along with a lot of people. The grief in church Tuesday evening was similar to what they\u2019ve seen on their campus over the last two days.<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone has been more quiet, and we\u2019ve seen teachers crying,\u201d said Bennett. \u201cEverything just seems so different.\u201d<\/p>\n

Elmore said he grew to know Andrew and his younger siblings after the family had moved in with him a few years ago to help care for Elmore\u2019s terminally ill mother. Elmore, the parents and the community were devastated, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey work hard, they take care of their four kids, and they\u2019re really nice, good, decent people,\u201d said Elmore.<\/p>\n

\"ReverendThe Rev. Rebecca Hansen fills out a prayer card during a vigil for Andrew Olsen, 12, at St. Andrews Lutheran Church. (Sandy Huffaker \/ For The San Diego Union-Tribune)<\/p>\n

While an acoustic rendition of \u201cSomewhere Over the Rainbow\u201d played, candles decorating tables at the front of the sanctuary flickered. Attendees held one another, cried and parents explained to their children what was happening.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s important for them to see that pain, a lot of the time, requires community,\u201d said Sheilla Alvarez. \u201cYour community is a support system that we all need during the most difficult times.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Rev. Sarah Sumner-Eisenbraun said that while the family was not a member of the church, the clergy decided to support them and the school, which is located nearby. Sumner-Eisenbraun said she is also the parent of a Pershing student.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to show our kids the strength of our community, the care we feel for one another,\u201d Sumner-Eisenbraun said. \u201cIt was hard to see so many kids here, but, at the same time, I\u2019m grateful they got to be together.\u201d<\/p>\n

At the end of the service, the Rev. Manuel Retamoza instructed church ushers to light the candles of those sitting along the aisles. The flame was passed down the row until all the candles that attendees had been given were shining.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat we face is not going to be easy,\u201d said Kray, the school principal. \u201cBut we will get through this together.\u201d<\/p>\n

Originally Published: October 22, 2025 at 8:56 AM PDT<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Community members lit candles at St. Andrew\u2019s Lutheran Church in San Carlos on Tuesday to grieve the loss…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":18006,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[7,138,12865,181,23,100,74,84,76,75,1696],"class_list":{"0":"post-18005","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-san-diego","8":"tag-california","9":"tag-crime-and-public-safety","10":"tag-lake-murray","11":"tag-latest-headlines","12":"tag-local-news","13":"tag-news","14":"tag-san-diego","15":"tag-san-diego-county","16":"tag-san-diego-headlines","17":"tag-san-diego-news","18":"tag-top-stories-sdut"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18005","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18005"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18005\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18006"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18005"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18005"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18005"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}