Funerals stir more tributes for school shooting victims

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 grey 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 honour 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, honour 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 honouring 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 honour 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 counsellor 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. I know you’re in a better place. Duques forever man I love you junior!!! R.I.P Martin Duque!”

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FRESHMAN COLOR GUARD MEMBER

Gina Montalto was a 14-year-old freshman who participated on the winter colour 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 Gina’s colour guard instructors from middle school, Manuel Miranda, told the Miami Herald that Gina was “the sweetest soul ever.”

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

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SWIMMING SCHOLARSHIP WINNER

Nicholas Dworet, 17, had committed to swim for the University of Indianapolis.

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.”

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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 centre, 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.”

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NATIONAL MERIT SEMIFINALIST AMONG VICTIMS

Mourners cried and hugged at the funeral of Carmen Schentrup, who was remembered as a smart girl with a sweet smile.

In September, she was named one of 53 National Merit Scholarship Program semifinalists in the county. 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.”

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RESERVED AND ACADEMICALLY RELENTLESS

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

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 demeanour 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.”

Another cousin, Jamie Page, called Ramsay “a genuine, beautiful, and smart human being who had so much potential and the brightest future.”

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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 honour of his 14-year-old freshman son, a relative wrote on a gofundme page that the family was starting a scholarship fund “to help other students experience the joys of music as well as fund increased security at schools.”

Band director Alexander Kaminsky told the Sun Sentinel that Alex began playing brass instruments in middle school. He was “fairly quiet” but worked hard to establish himself, Kaminsky said.

“The improvement I witnessed from him was admirable and inspiring,” Kaminsky said. “I felt he really had a bright future on the trombone.”

His mother died at an early age, and father Max Schachter often visited the school to help out. An older brother, who also attends Stoneman Douglas, survived the attack.

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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.”

Cara’s neighbour 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.”

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Reeves reported from Birmingham, Alabama. Contributing to this report were Tammy Webber in Chicago; Rebecca Boone in Boise, Idaho; David Porter in New York; Kelli Kennedy and Terry Spencer in Parkland, Florida; Michael Hill in Albany, New York; and Amanda Lee Myers in Los Angeles.

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This story has been corrected to fix spelling of Jaime Guttenberg’s first name in 2nd item, “THE ENERGY IN THE ROOM”

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Follow AP coverage of the shooting at: https://apnews.com/tag/Floridaschoolshooting

Jay Reeves, The Associated Press

by Canadian Press

Funerals stir more tributes for school shooting victims

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