Hope your words find God's Ear. Something ironic in all this, too. An honor student, good family, good life, and she becomes a victim of violence. You have to wonder how a streetwise kid would have fared in the same conditions. (Or someone not so striking.) It's also true that most in the US are incredibly naive. We go abroad and think that everybody's just like us. Not wise, at least not these days.
To be fair, teenagers are putting themselves in danger here in America every day too. I think young'uns have always tended to be reckless/naive at times, but nowadays the parents indulge them more with fast cars, parties and exotic trips.
I disagree with you on one point...
This could have just as easily happened here - especially when there's an influx of kids at spring break at the beaches. From what I can tell the only difference with Aruba is that it seems like it's "spring break" year round. That coupled with the fact that it is "legal" for 18 year olds to drink/gamble..