13-year-old girl dies after shooting at northeast side apartment complex

Andrea Eguia, an eighth grader at Belzer Middle School, was found shot inside an apartment at the Georgetown Apartments on Bunker Hill Drive on Saturday morning. She was 13 years old. She later died at the hospital.

Marina Bontempo, Andrea's aunt, said her niece left home without her mother knowing. "She wasn't out for vengeance, she wasn't out for gangs, none of that. Andrea went and thought she was going to kick it with a boy that liked her and that she liked and whatever teenage girls do at this time, and then they were going to make it home in time and.. Andrea never made it home," Bontempo said.

Andrea was one of four siblings. Family and friends called her "Pooders." Bontempo said Andrea helped hold the family together. "When her mom had bad days, she was her happiness; when her dad had bad days, she was his happiness; she always lifted up everyone around her. We had a message from someone talking about she never made them feel different," Bontempo said. Bontempo also said, "She wasn't judgmental, she wasn't evil, she was a good girl."

Her family says Andrea liked making TikTok videos, getting her hair done, and experimenting with makeup and lashes. She also liked fashion and spending time with relatives.

As of Tuesday, the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department has not announced any arrests or said what led to the shooting. Her family is waiting for those answers. Bontempo said, "You pulled our souls out of our chest. A whole family. She has aunts that loved her, uncles, grandmas, cousins, She was somebody important and you took that from us."

A funeral for Andrea is scheduled for Friday in Fort Wayne. Bontempo asked people who knew her to share what they remember. "We want to hear your stories, We want to see and know, how and what light Andrea brought to your life," Bontempo said.