"She wants justice" — Grieving mom remembers UA shooting victim Minhaj Jamshidi while laying him to rest

TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Loved ones gathered for a somber ceremony and burial Wednesday night, laying 19-year-old Minhaj Jamshidi down to rest, after he was shot and killed Sunday night on the University of Arizona campus.

During the burial, Freshta Jamshidi, Minhaj's mom, mourned her oldest son. In an exclusive interview with KGUN 9, she said she wants justice.

Quais Papoutsis, the owner of Opa's Grill, where Jamshidi worked, translated for her: “She come here from Afghanistan to have a good life for all the kids and she wants justice. Her heart is not here anymore. Every morning she wakes up...the first thing she sees is that beautiful smile from Minhaj and she does not see any more.”

Papoutsis also remembers Jamshidi's smile whenever he would come in to work at Opas Grill.

“I always remember his smiles, his happiness. He was sunshine for the other kids," Papoutsis said.

To Papoutsis, it's about more than losing an employee.

“I just lost my brother. He was like my kid," Papoutsis said.

Dozens of members of the Afghan community gathered in prayer as they buried Jamshadi.

“Back home in Afghanistan, when you go to school, it's normal for them, shooting and all that," said relative Omeid Aman. "You come here, you're like, 'OK, I'm safe here,' and certainly you wake up the next day, you hear the sad story, somebody shoot someone.”

Paulina Varela worked with him at Opa's Grill.

"He was great. He'd come to work. He joked around with all of us," Varela said. "He was a ray of sunshine. He never was in a bad mood. It's shocking because I was just there (the volleyball courts where Jamshidi was shot) the previous week with him, and we had so much fun, and it seemed safe. Now, I don't even want to take a step there. It's not fair. He had a whole life ahead of him."

Like Varela, Jamshidi's mother, Freshta Jamshidi, is calling for justice.

“He was happy person all the time and he keep happy everybody, and you guys seen everybody here from everywhere so, she just wants justice," said Papoutsis, translating for Jamshidi.