Flores didn't believe Los Angeles police when they came to her door a few days ago to tell her that her only son was murdered. She said she didn't want to accept it.
"I say 'Why God?' Why?" she recalled.
Anthony Rivera, a former national guardsman, was shot and killed on a Metro bus when it was hijacked in South L.A. Wednesday morning. The suspect led police on a chase and was later arrested in downtown. The bus driver and another passenger were rescued.
Rivera's family says he was only a few blocks from his home when the gunman got on the bus.
"He was just trying to get home from his very long shift as a parking lot attendant at Dodger Stadium," Rivera's cousin Sarah Beck said Saturday. "All he wanted to do was just get home safely, but he never made it home."
Just a few days ago, Rivera's family didn't imagine they'd be attending a gathering for National Day of Remembrance for Murder Victims.
Rivera is being remembered by friends and family as a kind, caring person who was always willing to help anyway he could.
"There was not a bad bone in his body. He would give his last dollar to you," Flores said.
Detectives are still trying to determine why the man who hijacked the Metro bus shot Rivera and no one else.
His family is calling for the harshest punishment possible for the gunman and for city leaders to have a renewed focus for the safety of those who rely on public transportation.
"He's a big dude and is absolutely fearless, and not even he is safe," Beck said. "So who is safe on public transit?"