On Monday, the Los Angeles Police Department arrested a 14-year-old girl for the March murder of Kendra McIntyre, the daughter of Breaking the Chains co-founder Debra Rush of Fresno.

McIntyre was shot while walking in a south L.A. neighborhood. McIntyre died at a nearby hospital where an ambulance took her for her injuries.

L.A. South Bureau Homicide Division detectives took on the investigation. Police did not release further details about the suspect.

Rush told GV Wire that the arrest was “bittersweet” for her.

“As good as it feels to have the beginning of some answers, it’s also heartbreaking to know that another young girl’s life has been negatively impacted and potentially destroyed, it’s heartbreaking,” Rush said.

Friends and Family Spoke of McIntyre’s Generosity

Family and friends held memorial services for McIntyre on April 8. Rush said the attendees spoke of McIntyre’s generosity and caring.

“We kept hearing the same sentiment that when they were in need, she was there for them. She would pray for people, she would offer the clothes off her own back to anybody in need, that’s just who she was,” Rush said.

Rush doesn’t know why her daughter was in a part of L.A. known for human trafficking other than that she was visiting.

A human trafficking victim herself, Rush started Breaking the Chains to provide services for people impacted by kidnapping and slavery.

Like her mother, McIntyre had also been a victim of human trafficking. From a young age, McIntyre showed signs of severe bipolar disorder.

A social media post from Rush about her daughter explained that traumatic incidents, including a violent in-home robbery, pushed Kendra away from people.

“Unable to find safety in her own mind, in her own home, and even in her own community, she ran and never stopped running,” the post read.

Little Is Known About the Shooter

Because the alleged shooter is a minor information about the case won’t become public unless there is a trial.

What Rush wants to know is whether the girl arrested by police was acting alone. Rush works often with police and prosecutors. The details match other cases Rush has experienced in her work.

“I highly suspect this is another girl from the streets out there,” Rush said. “So I’m very cautious because my heart hurts for her as well. I know it’s hard to say, but my heart hurts for this kid as well. Like I said, I highly doubt that this was something she did without provocation from somebody else.”

Rush said it’s commonplace for gangs to use minors to commit crimes.

In her post, Rush said victims of human trafficking often close up like an “iron vault.”

“My daughter never got the chance to unlock her vault, even though we stood outside, banging on the door, crying and pleading for her to open it,” Rush said.