‘Bright spirit’: Community remembers 16-year-old girl stabbed to death near Orlando skating rink

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — A 16-year-old girl was stabbed to death near a skating rink in Orlando after “teen night” Friday.

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Now, her mother is speaking out about her daughter’s final moments.

Jasmyne Stringer recalled her daughter’s final moments in an emotional post on Facebook, saying she held 16-year-old Kennedy as she was dying. Her daughter’s last word to her was “mom.”

Stringer says while all of this happened, teens stood around filming it on their phones. Videos were live-streamed and posted on social media.

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“We’re going to pull out our phones and get views instead of intervening. Right? How hard would it have been for one of his homeboys or friend of his to intervene? How hard would that have been?,” said Ruben Saldaña, part of Credible Messengers, an Orange County crime prevention group.

Williams was one of two teen girls who were stabbed on Friday night during a fight outside the Astro Skating Center, according to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office.

Both girls were taken to the hospital in critical condition, where Williams died. The second victim, who hasn’t been identified, survived.

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15-year-old Anthony Rushing was arrested and charged with one count of second-degree murder. Police said they were not searching for any other suspects.

Astro Skating Center management says they hire off-duty Orange County deputies on Fridays for “Teen Night.” Three deputies were at the rink when the stabbing happened in the Amscot parking lot next door.

The rink issued a statement, saying, “Unfortunately, an incident did occur close to our location on Goldenrod but not on our property. This is still a developing situation, and our hearts go out to the victims and their families. We are not interested in speaking, and we ask that everyone shows compassion for those involved.”

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Friday night bills itself as “teen skate night,” according to Astro Skating Center’s site.

The community is now raising money to transport Williams’ body back to Georgia, where the family is from.

“Kennedy’s bright spirit touched the lives of all that knew her, and her absence leaves a void that can never be filled,” family members wrote on GoFundMe. “As a community, let us rally around her family, offering our love, prayers, and financial support to help ease the burden of this tragic loss.”

The family moved to Florida in 2019.

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