Friends, family and community members gathered at Woodstock City Church in Woodstock, Georgia, on Friday afternoon to remember Laken Riley, a 22-year-old Augusta University nursing student allegedly murdered by an illegal immigrant on Feb. 22.

Riley was jogging along dirt trails surrounding Lake Herrick on the University of Georgia campus that Thursday morning when Jose Antonio Ibarra, a 26-year-old Venezuelan national, allegedly attacked and murdered her. She died of blunt-force trauma to the head.

Steady rain fell over Woodstock during the funeral, as hundreds of people gathered to remember the nursing student, described as “passionate,” “kindhearted,” and “amazing daughter, sister, friend and an overall extraordinary person” in her obituary.

“When the world loses someone like Laken, whose light consistently shined so bright, it seems that much darker in their absence,” Woodstock City Church lead pastor Samer Massad said in a Friday statement to Fox News. “Laken was special. She was a gift to anyone who knew her. Smart, kind, compassionate, and thoughtful don’t even begin to scratch the surface. She was a loving daughter, sister, and friend. She had a gift for making anyone she was around feel comfortable and seen. But the most special thing about Laken was her faith in Jesus.”

Former President Trump also spoke out about Riley’s death on Thursday while visiting the U.S.-Mexico border.

“A beautiful 22-year-old nursing student from Georgia was barbarically attacked. She was on a morning run… she was a beautiful young woman,” President Trump said Thursday. “I spoke to her parents yesterday, they are incredible people. They are devastated beyond belief. She was so beautiful in so many ways.” 

Trump said she was “brutally assaulted, horrifically beaten, kidnaped, and savagely murdered.” 

“The monster … charged in the death is an illegal alien migrant who was led into our country and released into our communities by Crooked Joe Biden,” the former president continued.

University of Georgia murder suspect Jose Ibarra lived within a five-minute walk of the approximate scene where he allegedly murdered 22-year-old nursing student Laken Riley on Feb. 22. (Mark Sims for Fox News Digital/Laken Riley/Jose Ibarra)

Ibarra and his brother, Diego Ibarra, were living in the country illegally in an apartment complex in Athens when Jose allegedly killed Riley while she was jogging. Jose entered through the U.S.-Mexico border in 2022 and was freed on border parole. He initially lived in New York City before moving to the Georgia college town. 

Diego Ibarra was fired from a dishwashing job at UGA after presenting fake green card documents, the school previously told Fox News Digital.

Fox News’ Michael Ruiz and Bill Melugin contributed to this report.