Community unites to honor Manor High student killed in stabbing

MANOR, Texas (KXAN) -- Hundreds of people showed up Friday to honor the life of a Manor Senior High student stabbed and killed on Tuesday. Many of them showing up wearing Western gear, a nod to the life of Darrin Loving.

"I would always see him every day in class and he was a really funny guy," one student told KXAN.

Fellow students, teachers, and parents came together Friday evening to remember the life of 18-year-old Loving.

"He was just a really nice guy who brought joy to everything and it's just unfair," that same student said.

The school district held a vigil Friday evening on the football field, one of his favorite sports to watch. The school's principal, many times while speaking to the large crowd, held back tears as she told them the impact he had on the school.

"My daughter goes here," one mother told KXAN's Barrett Tryon. "She's a student here, so I don't even want to imagine what his mother, and what his parents, are going through."

After some prayer, and a few speakers, those who came got into a single file and placed a candle in front of a memorial sign outside the stadium. The more than 20 minutes was filled with silence.

Parents are now left helping their own children heal after a tragedy at school.

"It's hard for her," that same mother said. "It's difficult for her to have to deal with this."

And students left to remember a friend that's now gone.

"Whenever he would cry he would lean into me and I would give him a hug. He was very close with me," another student said.

Students have been off since the incident occurred on campus. The district was planning to email parents on Saturday about plans for school on Monday.