Parents who lost their children in the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., are tweeting tributes to their kids on the first anniversary of the massacre.
“Exactly one year ago, to the minute at around 7am, I sent two kids to school. Only my son Jesse came home. Jaime was murdered in school,” tweeted Fred Guttenberg, who has become an advocate for stricter gun control after his 14-year-old daughter’s death. “I am forever haunted by my memory of that morning, rushing my kids out the door rather than getting one last minute. Did I say I love you?”
Andrew Pollack, who has advocated for better school security and accountability, tweeted that “everyday hurts the same as the first.”
“Meadow, my life will never be the same without you,” he wrote Thursday about his 18-year-old daughter who was killed. “But I’ve been fighting everyday to make sure this never happens again.”
Lori Alhadeff, who ran for and won a seat on the county school board after the death of her daughter, Alyssa, 14, tweeted a picture tribute.
On Sunday, Alhadeff also tweeted out a letter she wrote to her daughter for Valentine’s Day.
“It’s Valentine’s Day. “As I remember you, grief washes over me. But that grief emboldens me to fight for change,” she wrote. “It’s been a year since I saw you. You, in that black and white dress, those Converse on your feet, and that smile. I’ll never forget that smile.”
Manuel Oliver, who lost his son Joaquin, 17, tweeted a video expressing the new meaning Valentine’s Day has for him. The video depicts candy hearts that show phrases including “Help me” and “He’s gone.” It ends with an image of his son and the word “Refuse.”
Max Schachter, who lost his son Alex, 14, tweeted that he hoped his late wife Debbie would take care of their son.
Seventeen people, including students and teachers, were killed in a mass shooting at the school on Feb. 14, 2018. Thursday is the first anniversary of the shooting.