'She lit up every room she was in': Victim of NYC subway attack remembered in San Francisco

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- An East Bay native was remembered Tuesday night at vigils in San Francisco and in New York City after a brutal attack.

Candles were lit in San Francisco's Chinatown to remember 40-year-old Michelle Go, who grew up in Fremont and who was born in Berkeley.

"Michelle was a high school classmate of mine and she lit up every room she was in," said Gary Tan who knew Go when she attended American High School in Fremont.

VIDEO: Family mourns loss of Bay Area native who died after being shoved in front of NY subway train

An East Bay family says they are in a state of shock after Michelle Go was pushed in front of a New York subway train and killed.

While dozens showed up to remember Go here on the West Coast, hundreds remembered her in New York City Tuesday night too.

Go died Saturday after being shoved onto the tracks in front of an oncoming New York City subway train.

A former Bay Area colleague of hers told stories of how Michelle comforted her over her fear of flying even after their trip, by sending her an email to see if she was okay.

"When we found out about what happened, I was sharing these stories with my ex-manager who was also very close with Michelle and had a great working relationship. I told him the story about the airline in the email and his response was very simple. It was, 'That's so Michelle!'"

VIDEO: Suspect in custody after fatal NYC subway push

NJ Burkett has new information on the victim who was shoved on the tracks and killed by an oncoming train - and the suspect who is now in police custody.

It's still unclear why the suspect pushed Michelle. Police say he has a history of mental illness. He's currently in a hospital with a police guard, but those who spoke in San Francisco and New York City say attacks against Asian-Americans must stop.

"She deserved to be safe that day and didn't deserve this," said one friend.

"This has got to stop, we are going to take the spirit of her brilliance and her kindness and her desire to serve, and we're going to use that to continue to fight for a better world because we have to because the violence has to end," said San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu.