Friends and loved ones gathered Tuesday to pay tribute to a 19-year-old woman found dead in Surrey last week.

“She was amazing. She was very bright and happy, articulate, beautiful, funny,” Connie McLean, one of Kiran Dhesi’s former teachers, said at the vigil.

Dhesi’s body was found inside after firefighters extinguished her family's burning SUV, parked near 24 Avenue and 188 Street on Wednesday, Aug. 2. The next day, officials with the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team confirmed Dhesi had been murdered.

Those gathered at the Cougar Creek Elementary School Tuesday said they’re still in disbelief a week later.

“When I saw the name—and it’s been seven years since I’ve seen her—I just hoped it wasn’t her,” a tearful McLean said.

Attendees lit candles and shared their memories of the fashionable, makeup-loving girl described by those who knew her as welcoming and truthful.

“If I would want someone to give me an honest opinion about something, she would be the one I would go to,” said Samerah Mohammed, one of Dhesi’s friends. “She was one of the best friends anybody could ask for.”

Dhesi had recently recovered from a kidney transplant in February, friends said.

“Kiran was so excited to finally live her life to the fullest. She was so excited to travel the world. That’s the one thing she wanted to do,” Mohammed said.

Dhesi had also been looking forward to choosing classes without having to work around her dialysis schedule, as she worked towards becoming a Canada Border Services agent.

“She had so much drive and passion for what she did and she always did everything to the fullest,” said Kylie Arno, another friend.

Those who watched Dhesi grow up say she was part of a tight-knit group of friends who shared that passion.

“They would in come in and spend their lunch hours helping and that got to be a daily thing and then our secretary used to hire them to come in in the summer and holidays and stuff to help her out because they were so good,” McLean said.

IHIT believes that Dhesi was targeted, but that her death was not related to gang activity. The victim, who was not known to police, was last seen leaving her family’s Surrey home at 9 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 1. Her body was found about three hours later.

Dhesi was supposed to meet with friends that night, officers said.

Police still haven’t released any information about a possible suspect.

Anyone with information is asked to contact IHIT at 1-877-551-4448 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-8477.

With a report from CTV Vancouver’s Breanna Karstens-Smith