'They both seemed like good kids'

Skateboarder, cliff jumper, snake handler, aspiring firefighter.

Rene Carrillo liked adventure and enjoyed nature. Watching a blazing Southern Arizona sunset often was the highlight of his day.

The 18-year-old was doing what he loved, camping and target shooting with friends on Mount Lemmon, when he was shot and killed Saturday, said Enrique Carrillo, 21, the victim's brother.

Marisela Romero, 18, is accused of shooting Carrillo in the head. She and the victim were arguing when Romero said, "If I had a gun, I would shoot you," according to court records. Calling Romero's bluff, Carrillo handed her a .22 revolver, which she allegedly pointed at Carrillo's head and fired, court records say. Carrillo died as his friend cradled him.

"He looked up, smiled at his best friend and died," Enrique said.

A viewing is planned for 6 to 9 p.m. Thursday, with a rosary at 7, at South Lawn Mortuary & Cemetery, 5401 S. Park Ave. A Mass will begin at 10 a.m. Friday at St. Monica's Roman Catholic Parish, 212 W. Medina Road, followed by burial at Holy Hope Cemetery, 3555 N. Oracle Road.

Enrique Carrillo organized a carwash Sunday to help pay for funeral expenses. The fundraiser brought in $3,000. More than 60 of Rene's friends pitched in. "A lot of the kids doing the carwash were the kids who had been up there (on Mount Lemmon). They hadn't slept. They wanted to do something," said Rene's mother, Rosemary Leon.

Rene Carrillo graduated from Palo Verde High Magnet School in May and spent the summer enjoying the outdoors with his friends - visiting San Carlos, the Salt River, Redington Pass and Mount Lemmon - and working part time at a Krispy Kreme Doughnuts shop to pay for classes at Pima Community College. He wanted to be a firefighter.

Romero, a former pitcher on the Palo Verde High softball team, also was working and attending PCC, said Pima County sheriff's Detective Juan Carlos Navarro.

"They both seemed like good kids," he said.

Henry Carrillo is relying on faith - not anger - to help him cope with the death of his son.

"Let this be a lesson. Don't let Rene die in vain," he said. "To the girl's family, . . . we hold no hard feelings. It could have happened to anyone. We don't know why she did it. We don't know what she was thinking."

Romero told authorities that she thought the gun was unloaded and had intended only to scare Carrillo.

Enrique Carrillo described her as a "hanger-on" whom the rest of the group "tolerated." After the shooting, Romero ran from the site on foot. It took deputies with tracking dogs two hours to find her, the Carrillo family said. She was booked into jail on suspicion of second-degree murder but has since been released to the supervision of Pima County's Pretrial Services Division.

"Whatever the outcome, whether she gets prison time or not, it's not going to bring Rene back," his father said. "It was two good kids from good families that are going to suffer."

Contact reporter Kimberly Matas at kmatas@azstarnet.com or at 573-4191.