Saturday 7-year-old Taylor Hayes will be laid to rest. Friday, family and friends, even strangers paid their respects to the little girl.
Hayes was shot while in the backseat of a car; her killer still hasn't been found.
"I'm here as a parent. I'm here because I care and it could be my child," said Janie McCoy.
"It's very somber. I can tell you for me personally, this is the smallest casket I've ever seen in my life," said Catalina Byrd, the Hayes' family spokesperson.
Hayes' family was just too distraught to speak.
"This was a very energetic and loving child who had touched the lives of many people in her short 7 years here on earth," said Byrd.
Hayes was shot in Northwest Baltimore earlier this month as she sat in the backseat of a car; her killer is still on the loose.
"This is a very hard time, especially if you're a mother. You never think that when you're carrying your child that you think that you would be planning a service for them," Byrd said.
Family friends said Taylor's favorite color was purple; some of them were wearing these special bracelets as they came to say their goodbyes.
"The family is very thankful for the community's support and outpouring of love for them. They are very thankful for that," said Byrd.
Even those who didn't know Taylor wanted to share the family's grief.
"I'm just a citizen of Baltimore that's tired of seeing this. I'm tired of seeing murals, I'm tired of seeing vigils. I just wanted to come and to support the family and let them know that everyone here cares, everyone cares," said McCoy.
There will be a community gathering in Hayes' honor in the parking lot of Capital Lounge Saturday from 2-4.
That event is open to the public.
