YAKIMA - Desiree Sunford touched the lives of her students and had a smile that could light the room, her mother said.

The art teacher at Wapato Middle School, a 2000 graduate of Moses Lake High School, was found dead of gunshot wounds by Yakima County Sheriff's deputies Sunday, according to the sheriff's office. Yakima County Coronor Jack Hawkins ruled the death a homicide Monday after an autopsy.

Sunford's husband contacted the sheriff's office after their home's security system was triggered and he was unable to reach her, the sheriff's office confirmed.

"Tragedy is the only word I can use to describe it," Connie Cast, Sunford's mother, said.

Sunford and her husband Scott were both Moses Lake High School graduates. Sunford graduated in 2000 and continued her education at Central Washington University in Ellensburg, where she graduated with a Bachelor's in education in 2005. She also earned her Master's in Education through University of Phoenix.

After completing her education, Sunford began substituting at Moses Lake High School. She eventually found full-time employment at Wapato Middle School as an art teacher, where she was well-liked by parents as well as students, according to reports.

Wapato school and parents were shocked to hear of Sunford's death.

"Me, personally, I cried," said Michelle Diaz, an 8th-grade art student in Sunford's class, according to news reports. Sunford helped her students develop a passion for art and pushed them to express themselves during class, they said.

Cast described her daughter as very loving and caring. "Her smile would light up the room," she said.

In addition to teaching and spending time with her family, Sunford was involved in charitable activities.

"The lives that she's touched in the short amount of time is just astronomical," Cast said. "And it's beyond sad that she'll not be able to touch more lives, especially the lives of the children that she was teaching."