By JAY REEVES Associated Press
By JAY REEVES Associated Press
Honors and remembrances are continuing for the 17 students and employees who were shot to death at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.
A student who wanted to attend West Point will get a posthumous acceptance to the prestigious military university, officials said Tuesday as funerals were held for him and other young people among the dead.
Here are short portraits of the victims:
FRIEND OF HEROIC COACH: « I JUST KNEW IT »
There wasn’t any question in Joe LaGuardia’s mind about whether his friend Aaron Feis tried to protect students when a gunman opened fire. LaGuardia knew Feis had.
« He was one of the greatest people I know, » LaGuardia recalled a funeral service for Feis, an assistant coach and security specialist who was among the dead at the school.
Broward Sheriff Scott Israel, who had known Feis for years, said head football coaches shuttled in an out at the high school, but each one kept Feis as an assistant.
« Everybody wanted him, » Israel said. « He was the connection to the kids. Kids would do more for Feis than others. Why? Because they didn’t want to let Feis down. »
Feis, 37, graduated from the school in 1999 and worked mainly with the junior varsity, living in nearby Coral Springs with his wife and daughter.
« Everyone loved him and he was a jolly person. What takes away some of the pain is that he was a hero, » said grandfather Raymond Feis of West Islip, New York.
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POSTHUMOUS WEST POINT ADMISSION
Junior ROTC student Peter Wang wanted to attend the U. S. Military Academy, and he is receiving a posthumous admission offer after being killed in the massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
Wang, 15, died wearing his gray ROTC shirt, and was last seen holding a door open for other students, his cousins have said.
West Point officials said Tuesday that the offer of admission to the Class of 2025 was an appropriate honor for Peter Wang, a « brave young man » whose lifetime goal was to attend the storied academy north of New York City.
West Point rarely offers posthumous admissions. Potential candidates’ actions must exemplify the academy’s tenets of duty, honor and country.
« He is so brave. He is the person who is genuinely kind to everyone, » cousin Lin Chen told reporters.
Wang was one of three freshmen members of the school’s Junior ROTC program who were killed.
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« THE ENERGY IN THE ROOM »
Jaime Guttenberg’s father, Fred Guttenberg, remembers his daughter as being « the life of the party, » that person who made people laugh and « the energy in the room. »
With dark hair and a big smile, the 14-year-old loved to dance and hoped to become an occupational therapist and mom, an aunt said. Now, Jaime is among the dead at her school.
« Back in October I lost my brother to cancer from his service in 9/11. That at the time seemed impossible to me. It made no sense. It couldn’t happen and it couldn’t get worse. This is worse, » Guttenburg told hundreds gathered a community memorial honoring the victims.
Fighting away tears, Guttenberg said he couldn’t recall if he told his daughter he loved her as she headed to school Wednesday. He called it « unfathomable » that she was slain in a place where she was supposed to be safe.
« I don’t know what I do next, » said Guttenberg. « My wife is home. We are broken. But I can tell you, don’t tell me there’s no such thing as gun violence. It happened in Parkland. »
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HUGE CROWD FOR FIRST FUNERAL
At the first funeral for a Stoneman Douglas victim, mourners of 14-year-old Alyssa Alhadeff packed the Star of David chapel and its foyer, and stood 15-deep outside.
Those outside strained to hear voices chanting Jewish prayers and remembering the star soccer player as having « the strongest personality, » and as a creative writer with a memorable smile.
A strong male voice told mourners: « I ask you to live your life in full for Alyssa. Be strong for Alyssa. Be kind for Alyssa. »
Earlier, her distraught mother screamed into CNN’s camera demanding that President Donald Trump take action after the shooting.
« 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! »
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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, 19, 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. »
Oliver used to play soccer, the goalkeeper position in community games, said friend Daniel Rodriguez, and he ran for homecoming prince last year.
Oliver, whose family is Venezuelan, sometimes cooked and shared the experience on Snapchat, along with lessons he learned from his grandmother, like how to grill a steak using a rock to properly seal the meat.
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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.
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 online fundraising campaign to establish a scholarship in Hixon’s honor has raised more than $13,000.
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ANGER OVER DEATH OF COLLEGE-BOUND SENIOR
Senior Meadow Pollack, 18, already had decided to attend Lynn University in Boca Raton, but she was still the baby of her family as the youngest of three children. At her funeral, father Andrew Pollack’s grief and anger boiled over with more than 1,000 mourners including Gov. Rick Scott packed into Temple K’ol Tikvah.
Andrew Pollack slowly climbed the steps to the synagogue’s altar, looked down at the plain pine coffin of his 18-year-old daughter, Meadow, and then told the crowd, « I am very angry and upset about what transpired. »
« You killed my kid! » he yelled, referring to 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz, who is charged with the shooting Wednesday that left 17 dead. « My kid is dead. It goes through my head all day and all night. I keep hearing it. This is just unimaginable that I will never see my princess again. »
Others described a young woman who was « beautiful inside and out, » who loved to hug and smile. Rabbi Bradd Boxman urged mourners to do an act of kindness in Pollack’s memory.
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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.
Beigel worked as a counselor at Camp Starlight in rural Pennsylvania. The camp posted a tribute to him on its Facebook page.
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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 last Thursday with others holding a group of white balloons for the victims.
Martin was one of three freshmen members of the Junior ROTC program at the school who were killed.
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.
