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As it happenedended1518818423

Florida shooting: Mother makes impassioned plea for 'action' from Donald Trump as funerals for victims begin - as it happened

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Clark Mindock
Parkland, Florida
,Mythili Sampathkumar,Andrew Griffin
Friday 16 February 2018 14:53 GMT
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Florida school student thanks Geography teacher who saved her

New details are emerging about Nikolas Cruz, 19, the teenager suspected of carrying out America's latest deadly mass shooting as the country once more finds itself reeling in horror from another eruption of gun violence.

Students and teachers at the Marjory Stoneman District School in Parkland, Florida, are struggling to come to terms with the shock attack on Valentine's Day that saw a masked gunman enter its grounds bearing smoke grenades and kill 17 people with an AR-15 semi-automatic assault rifle, injuring many others.

As attention turns towards the identity of his victims and the heroism of those who survived the attack, America once again finds itself asking difficult questions about the future of its gun control laws. But Donald Trump has looked to place the blame on mental health provisions – apparently suggesting in a tweet that people who knew the killer should have done more to report him to the authorities.

You can follow the latest updates on the atrocity's aftermath below:

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Teenagers voices take centre stage – and turn on Trump

As questions continue to be asked about how such an act of mass murder could actually happen, much attention is turning to the accounts of and pleas from people who were inside Marjory Stoneman District School when the shooting happened.

One of those voices came in a tweet from someone identified herself as Carly, who said she had hid in a cupboard during the attack. She responded to a tweet from right-wing pundit Tomi Lahren, who had said that "the left" should refrain from pushing gun control in the wake of the shooting.

"I was hiding in a closet for 2 hours," Carly wrote. "It was about guns. You weren't there, you don't know how it felt. Guns give these disgusting people the ability to kill other human beings. This IS about guns and this is about all the people who had their life abruptly ended because of guns."

Her post has been shared 300,000 times and is just one of the many hugely popular interventions by teenagers who were caught up in the violence. Many have used both traditional and social media to call out those pushing back against discussion of gun control, suggesting that something must be done as soon as possible.

Andrew Griffin16 February 2018 12:10
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Late night host Jimmy Kimmel mourns shooting – and attacks Donald Trump

Jimmy Kimmel opened his late night show by replaying clips from President Donald Trump's statement about the killings of 17 people by a teenager with an AR-15 assault weapon at a Florida high school - including the part where Trump said "no parent should ever have to fear for their sons and daughters when they kiss them goodbye in the morning." 

Kimmel said he agrees, "and here's what you do to fix that. Tell your buddies in Congress, tell Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell and Marco Rubio, all the family men who care so much about their communities, that what we need are laws, real laws, that do everything possible to keep assault rifles out of the hands of people who are going to shoot our kids. Go on TV and tell them to do that!" he said to strong applause. 

Kimmel called on Trump to "force these allegedly Christian men and women who stuff their pockets from the NRA to do something, now. Not later, now. And don't you dare let them say it's too soon to be talking about it." 

Kimmel urged people to write their representatives, call them, "and if they don't listen, vote them out of office." 

Andrew Griffin16 February 2018 13:10
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Hundreds of people attend candlelit vigil for victims

At least 1,000 people attended a candlelight vigil near the school Thursday night, some openly sobbing as the victims' names were read aloud. At one point, people began chanting, "No more guns! No more guns!" 

Some held flowers. Others held signs asking for action, including gun control, against school violence. 

"Kids don't need guns. No guns under 21," read one sign. 

Authorities said Nikolas Cruz, a volatile 19-year-old who became an orphan when his mother died in November and had been expelled from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, legally bought the AR-15 assault weapon he used to kill 17 people and wound more than a dozen others. 

Cruz was ordered held without bond Thursday. His lawyer called him a "broken human being" and Executive Chief Public Defender Gordon Weeks said he was under a suicide watch.

Andrew Griffin16 February 2018 13:10
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Friends shattered – and forged – in the shooting

As time passes since the shooting, the specifics of the people and events of that day are becoming clear. The Associated Press's Jason Dearen describes six friends shattered by the shooting – and joined together by the horrifying experience:

It was the final period of the day at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High and Jonathan Blank was in history class, learning about the Holocaust. Across campus, five of his friends, pals since grade school, sat in different classrooms watching the clock. In 19 minutes, school would be out and the buddies had plans this Valentine's Day: a little basketball and boys' time. 

Inside classroom 1214, the clock hit 2:21 p.m. Then: POP! POP! POP! 

Instinctively, 16-year-old Jonathan hit the ground, taking cover under his desk. He smelled the chemical stench of gunpowder, noticed sawdust particles floating in the air: pieces of the classroom door that had been splintered by shots. Around the room, his schoolmates covered themselves with textbooks and took shelter behind filing cabinets. 

One girl's face was covered in blood. Nearby, a boy wasn't moving. It struck Jonathan that he was probably dead. 

Beyond the pockmarked door, gunfire sounded up and down the hallway, seesawing eerily between shots, then silence, shots, then silence. All that broke through the moments of quiet were horrifying shrieks — along with the groans of Jonathan's wounded classmates. 

The teen thought about texting his parents and of course his best friends, but he'd left his phone atop his desk and was too frozen with fear to reach up and grab it. Joey, Noah, John, Sam, Ethan — his band of brothers that had bonded over soccer, basketball and bar mitzvahs — Jonathan had no way of knowing if they were OK or if they, too, lay dying somewhere amid yet another deadly rampage inside yet another U.S. school. 

——— 

They cheekily called themselves the "Jew Crew," these six friends who met playing sports in elementary school and who, at 13, had planned back-to-back bar mitzvahs so the parties would stretch on for weeks. Along with Jonathan there was Joey Cordover, Noah Kaufman, John Greenberg, Sam Resnick and Ethan Rocha, who wasn't Jewish but became an honorary "crew" member anyway. 

The six jelled quickly and had been inseparable ever since, spending hours playing Xbox or just hanging out at Jonathan's "the door-is-always-open" house in affluent Parkland, a suburb of gated developments and strip malls about an hour north of Miami. They'd even begun plotting to go to college together at the University of Florida but, as juniors, they had to get through high school first. 

On this Wednesday, as bullets tore through Jonathan's classroom, Joey Cordover was on the opposite side of the school in study hall. Suddenly, the fire alarm sounded — the second of the day. The students sitting around him looked at each other, confused. At first they shrugged it off as a false alarm. Then Joey and the others looked outside and saw students walking to the designated meeting spot for drills. They decided to go, too. 

Sam and Noah were in history class together when the alarm sounded. They, too, figured it was a false alarm, but as their class started heading outside someone screamed, "It's a Code Red!" Translation: Shooting on campus. Seconds later, they heard gunfire. The two took off running for the street as heavily armed police darted past them back toward the school. 

Joey also managed to make it out, leaving his backpack in a growing pile in the middle of the road, as instructed by police, but holding tight to his cell. At 2:33 p.m., his dad texted to check that he was OK. He said he was, but all around him kids were talking about students getting killed. 

"At least 1 dead," Joey texted his father. "Unreal." 

Another of the crew, John Greenberg, fled from a portable classroom and stood outside among throngs of terrified students. When someone said the shooter had possibly escaped, he decided to head home. Separately, Ethan Rocha also managed to make it to safety. 

That left just Jonathan. 

Outside on the street, where Sam and Noah stood together, rumors were spreading. They heard there may have been deaths in a history class, the one focused on the Holocaust. They knew Jonathan had that class during last period. Noah tried Jonathan's number, but the call wouldn't go through. Cell service was too jammed with everyone trying to reach their loved ones. 

——— 

Back in classroom 1214, in the building where 12 of the 17 victims, most of them students, would eventually be found, armor-clad officers burst in shouting, "Everyone put your hands up!" Jonathan raised his hands, sat up, looked around and saw ruin. 

After about 10 minutes, the police told the students to get out. Jonathan walked past his fallen classmates into the hallway. There, two more bodies lay between him and the exit outside. He told himself not to look. 

Outside, surrounded by sirens and helicopters and sobbing children and parents, Jonathan texted his mother, who had already rattled off four urgent texts asking if he was OK. "They shot in my class," he responded. "3 people shot in my class." He would later learn it was four. 

Then he turned to the group chat he'd set up for his "crew." There was a message waiting from Noah. 

"R u ok. Bro. R u ok." 

"Im traumatized." 

"Tell me ur ok," Noah pressed. 

"Im ok, 3 people shot in my class. Im ok tho." 

Ethan chimed in next. Then, within minutes, texts arrived from the other four. 

The next morning, the six went together to a counseling session for students at the local YMCA. Then, as they so often had before, they gathered at Jonathan's place. This time, they hugged each other tight and said, "I love you, man," with no hint of irony or embarrassment. 

"We don't know what to do. It's confusing," Sam Resnick said, sitting on the sofa between Jonathan and Ethan. 

"When we're older and someone asks us where we went to high school and we say Marjory Stoneman Douglas they're going to say: 'Hey, that's where the mass shooting was,"' Noah added. "They'll put us in the same category as Columbine or Sandy Hook. It doesn't feel real, honestly." 

Hours later, still together, the crew headed to Pine Trails Park for a community vigil and a chance to begin coming to terms with it all. Jonathan walked through the crowd, his mother following. His dark eyes were red. He saw his history teacher, Ivy Schamis, and the two spoke briefly. He gave his buddy John a hug, and then he started to sob. 

The friends know this is only the first hard day of many to come but their connection, they said, is their key to finding a way to move on. 

"We've created a bond you can't break," Jonathan said. "Going through a situation like this has brought us even closer together."

Andrew Griffin16 February 2018 13:12
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Heroes and friends: Stories of the 17 killed in Florida shooting

17 people were killed in the shooting at a Florida high school. Each of them had their own story – and they are flooding in as the community reckons with what it has lost.

Here, from the Associated Press, is each of their stories:

When a gunman opened fire with an AR-15 at a large high school in south Florida, he claimed the lives of students with their whole lives ahead of them, along with those of the teachers who tried to protect them. Here is a look at the 17 people who authorities say died in the deadly shooting Wednesday at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland: 

COACH AND SECURITY MONITOR 

Assistant football coach Aaron Feis was shot to death while selflessly shielding students from bullets. A tweet from the school football program ended: "He died a hero and he will forever be in our hearts and memories." 

Feis, 37, graduated from the school in 1999 and worked mainly with the junior varsity, the team website said. It said he lived in nearby Coral Springs with his wife and daughter. 

The Sun Sentinel reported that Feis, acting as a school security guard, responded to the original call on a school walkie-talkie. Someone on the radio asked if loud sounds they heard were firecrackers, said football coach Willis May, who also carries a radio. 

"I heard Aaron say, 'No, that is not firecrackers.' That's the last I heard of him," May said. 

Yohance Williams, who plays linebacker, said "the sacrifice he made didn't surprise me the least." 

——— 

VICTIM'S FAMILY: "LIVE FOR ALYSSA!" 

Among the youngest victims was Alyssa Alhadeff, an avid soccer player whose mother creamed into CNN's camera demanding that President Donald Trump take action. 

"President Trump, you say what can you do?" Lori Alhadeff said. "You can stop the guns from getting into these children's hands! Put metal detectors at every entrance to the schools. What can you do? You can do a lot! This is not fair to our families and our children go to school and have to get killed! 

"I just spent the last two hours putting the burial arrangements for my daughters funeral, who is 14! Fourteen! President Trump, please do something! Do something. Action! We need it now!" 

Later, on her Facebook page, she urged people to kiss their children, and "Live for Alyssa! Be her voice and breathe for her." 

——— 

FRIEND WON'T GET TO SAY 'I GRADUATED HIGH SCHOOL' 

Joaquin Oliver, 17, was known by his nickname "Guac," short for "guacamole," because many struggled to pronounce his given name. 

"My friend will literally never get to say, 'I graduated high school,"' said Tyra Hemans, a 19-year-old who said they had been friends since freshmen year. 

She last saw him at school, before the shooting. 

"It was just a brief 'Happy Valentine's,"' she said. "He was with his girlfriend and I was just like, 'Oh my God, you guys are so cute."'

She added, "He's just a goofball. He's the only kid you'd know that would dye his hair bleach-blond, walk around school, put some tiger stripes in and just be unique. He was a unique soul." 

——— 

ATHLETIC DIRECTOR 'WAS JUST AMAZING' 

Chris Hixon, a married father of two and the school's athletic director, wasn't shy about jumping in wherever he was needed, said friend and one-time colleague Dianne Sanzari. 

Hixon, 49, belonged to a Roman Catholic church in Hollywood. The Archdiocese of Miami confirmed his death Thursday. 

When a volleyball team needed a fill-in coach, Hixon took over; the same thing happened with the wrestling team, Sanzari said. When the school needed someone to patrol the campus and monitor threats as a security specialist, Hixon did that, too. 

It was in that security role that Hixon apparently came within range of the shooter. 

——— 

'AN ANGEL TAKEN AWAY FROM US' 

Meadow Pollack was beautiful inside and out, her cousin Jake Maisner told the Sun-Sentinel. She was a senior and had planned to attend Lynn University in Boca Raton, her father, Andrew Pollack, told the Palm Beach Post. 

Meadow was the youngest of three kids and 10 Pollack grandchildren, he said. 

"She was the baby of the family. Everyone wanted to protect her," he said. 

"Her life was taken way too soon and I have no words to describe how this feels," friend Gii Lovito posted on Facebook. 

Family friend Adam Schachtel said in a Facebook post that "an angel was taken away from us in that horrific tragedy ... no words can be said so just prayers and sadness." 

——— 

"SELFLESS SERVICE" 

Alaina Petty, 14, "loved to serve," her family said. 

She participated in the school's Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps, and spent countless hours volunteering for the "Helping Hands" program of her Mormon church. After Hurricane Irma struck Florida, she helped people clean up and rebuild their lives, they said. 

"Her selfless service brought peace and joy to those that had lost everything during the storm," her family's statement said. "It is important to sum up all that Alaina was and meant to her family and friends. Alaina was a vibrant and determined young woman, loved by all who knew her." 

Petty attended a local Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Petty was a "valiant young member of the Coral Springs Ward," Church leader Stephen E. Thompson wrote in an update. 

——— 

GEOGRAPHY TEACHER HELPED STUDENTS 

Geography teacher and cross-country coach Scott Beigel, 35, helped students enter a locked classroom to avoid the gunman, and paid for the brave act with his life. 

"If the shooter would have come into the room, I probably wouldn't be speaking to you now," student Kelsey Friend told Good Morning America. 

Beigel "unlocked the door and let us in," she said. "I thought he was behind me, but he wasn't. When he opened the door he had to relock it so we could stay safe, but he didn't get a chance to." 

Student Bruna Oliveda said she saw Beigel blocking the door. 

"I don't know how we're alive," she said. 

——— 

14-YEAR-OLD LOOKED OUT FOR UNDERDOGS 

Ninth grader Jaime Guttenberg, 14, loved to dance and hoped to become an occupational therapist and mother, aunt Abbie Youkilis said. 

"She always looked out for the underdog and the bullied and she probably had been kind to the (former) student who shot her," Youkilis said in a written statement sent to The Associated Press. 

Guttenberg leaves her parents, Fred and Jennifer Guttenberg, and brother Jesse. Her father said in a Facebook post that he is "trying to figure out how my family gets through this." 

Youkilis called for gun-control legislation, saying Jaime's parents were "the world's most loving and over-protective parents but they could not protect Jaime from the sickness that has gripped our country." 

——— 

BALLOONS FOR THE VICTIMS 

Martin Duque, 14, was one of Isaac Briones' best friends. 

"He was like, one of the nicest people I knew," said Briones, 15. "He was so caring." 

Briones said he last saw Martin the day of the shooting during first period. 

"We were just playing around, talking about jokes and stuff," said Isaac, who was outside the school Thursday with others holding a group of white balloons for the victims. 

On Instagram, Miguel Duque wrote that words can't describe the pain of losing his brother. He added: "I love brother Martin you'll be missed buddy. I know you're in a better place. Duques forever man I love you junior!!! R.I.P Martin Duque!" 

——— 

FRESHMAN COLOR GUARD MEMBER 

Gina Montalto was a 14-year-old freshman who participated on the winter color guard squad at the school. 

Friends and relatives posted tributes on Facebook, including mother Jennifer Montalto. 

"She was a smart, loving, caring, and strong girl who brightened any room she entered. She will be missed by our family for all eternity," said the post. 

One of Montalto's color guard instructors from middle school, Manuel Miranda, told the Miami Herald that Montalto was "the sweetest soul ever." 

"She was kind, caring always smiling and wanting to help," Miranda said. 

——— 

SWIMMING SCHOLARSHIP WINNER 

Nicholas Dworet, 17, had committed to swim for the University of Indianapolis. The college announced Thursday that the senior was among those killed. 

In a statement, UIndy swimming coach Jason Hite called Dworet an "energetic and very vibrant kind" who cheered for his soon-to-be university during a swimming meet last month. 

"I spoke with his mom this morning, and she reiterated the fact that he was really looking forward to this next step in his life and becoming a Hound," said Hite. "He really felt like he had a family in the team, and was really excited about what we're doing up here." 

Dworet "was very positive and a very cheerful person," his teammate Guillermo Barrios told the Sun-Sentinel. "He was the leader of the team. He was team captain. He was very leaderlike and mature." 

——— 

ROTC STUDENT 

Peter Wang, 15, died wearing his gray ROTC shirt, and was last seen holding a door open for other students, his cousins Lin Chen and Aaron Chen told local media. 

"He doesn't care about popularity. He always liked to cheer people up. He is like the big brother everyone wished they had," said Lin Chen. 

She told the Sun-Sentinel that Wang had two brothers, ages 11 and 5, and his parents, too upset to talk, own a restaurant in West Palm Beach. They had planned to celebrate Chinese New Year's eve Thursday. 

"I feel the family can never be the same," she said. 

——— 

FAMILY SEARCHED HOSPITALS, AND THEN ... 

Fifteen-year-old Luke Hoyer was a loving, sweet person who loved basketball and "smiled all the time," his aunt Joan Cox said. 

"He was just a good kid ... very loving and just enjoyed life," said Cox, of Greenville, South Carolina. 

She said Luke's parents, Gena and Tom Hoyer, searched for their son at hospitals before finally going to the law enforcement command center, where they eventually learned he had died. 

"It's just a terrible thing," said Cox, who said the family — including Luke's older sister Abby and brother Jake — spent Christmas with her and other family in South Carolina. "He's going to be missed by many." 

——— 

NATIONAL MERIT SEMIFINALIST AMONG VICTIMS 

Carmen Schentrup was a smart girl with a sweet smile. 

In September, she was named one of 53 National Merit Scholarship Program semifinalists in the county and a classmate tweeted "we all praised for her intelligence." 

Cousin Matt Brandow posted on Facebook that the 16-year-old visited Washington State recently and said she wanted to go to the University of Washington. He asked: you like the rain? 

"She answers, I hate sweating in the humid Florida weather," Brandow wrote. "That's when I knew you were perfect for Washington." 

——— 

RESERVED AND ACADEMICALLY RELENTLESS 

Helena Ramsay was soft-spoken, but also smart and a go-getter, her cousin Sefena Cooper said Thursday. 

The 17-year-old junior especially loved hanging out with friends and family, "and for this to happen is heartbreaking," Cooper said. 

"Although somewhat reserved, she had a relentless motivation towards her academic studies and her soft warm demeanor brought the best out in all who knew her," another relative, Curtis Page Jr., wrote on Facebook. 

"She was so brilliant and witty, and I'm still wrestling with the idea that she is actually gone," he wrote. "She would have started college next year." 

——— 

MEMORIAL FOR BAND MEMBER 

Trombone and baritone player Alex Schachter was a "sweetheart of a kid," according to a social media post by his family. 

In honor of his 14-year-old freshman son, a relative of the youth's father, Max Schachter, wrote on a gofundme page that he was starting a scholarship fund "to help other students experience the joys of music as well as fund increased security at schools." 

The message said: "Please help keep Alex's spirit alive." 

——— 

RELATIVES OF VICTIM "ABSOLUTELY GUTTED" 

Cara Loughran, 14, was an excellent student who loved the beach and her cousins, according to her family. 

An aunt, Lindsay Fontana, wrote on Facebook: "I had to tell my 8-year-old daughters that their sweet cousin Cara was killed in the shooting at Stoneman Douglas High School yesterday. We are absolutely gutted." 

"While your thoughts are appreciated, I beg you to DO SOMETHING," she wrote. "This should not have happened to our niece Cara and it cannot happen to other people's families." 

Loughran's neighbor posted a picture of her cheering on a young boy riding a bike with training wheels. 

"RIP Cara," Danny Vogel wrote, "and fly with the angels. You will be greatly missed, and we will always love you and celebrate your beautiful life." 

Andrew Griffin16 February 2018 13:50
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President Donald Trump has said he is leaving for Florida later today to "meet with some of the bravest people." 

Mr Trump's tweet did not elaborate on his plans. But White House officials are working to arrange a visit to Florida in the wake of this week's deadly school shooting. 

Mr Trump wrote that he'll meet with "people whose lives have been totally shattered." 

Steve Anderson16 February 2018 15:28
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A grieving mother who directed her anger at President Donald Trump on live television after the Florida school shooting is has made another plea for something to be done. And she's made it personal, invoking the president's 11-year-old son, Baron. 

Lori Alhadeff spoke Friday in a CNN interview before the funeral for her 14-year-old daughter Alyssa. 

She said, "President Trump, Baron goes to school. Let's protect Baron. And let's also protect all these other kids." 

Then her voice raised to a shout as she said "You need to help us, now. We need security now for all these children. We need Action, Action, Action!" 

Steve Anderson16 February 2018 15:38
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Steve Anderson16 February 2018 15:47
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More than $750,000 has been raised for the families of victims of the shooting, in just 24 hours.

Steve Anderson16 February 2018 16:05
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Senator Bill Nelson has said he is continuing to work for changes in gun laws after 17 people were killed in a Florida high school. 

The Florida Democrat said the state Legislature also bears responsibility, since it could outlaw assault weapons in the state. 

Speaking outside Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Friday, Mr Nelson said he has been inspired by the students at who've been demanding changes to make gun violence less likely. 

Mr Nelson said: "These kids are just terrific. ... The fact that they are speaking up as boldly as they are, maybe that's the turning point. You haven't heard students speak up one after another after another after witnessing such carnage and speaking out with such conviction." 

Steve Anderson16 February 2018 16:27

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