Parkland remembers victims 5 years after school massacre

PARKLAND, Fla. (AP) — People released doves, lit candles and shed tears Tuesday as the Parkland community commemorated the fifth anniversary of the murder of 14 students and three staff members at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School and showed support for their families.

About 200 people gathered in a Coral Springs shopping centre parking lot near the school in the afternoon for the first of two main ceremonies, with the second scheduled for nighttime. The centre houses Eagles Nest, a community counselling center that opened shortly after the massacre, in which 17 others were wounded.

The families who were present took turns lighting candles encased in glass engraved with their loved ones’ names. There were also candles representing three students who were present during the shooting and have since died by suicide. The families then released 17 doves, which flew as a group in circles overhead. Neighbours hugged the families and asked how they were doing.

“It meant so much to us, to come together as a community,” said Mitch Dworet, who lost his 17-year-old son Nick in the shooting. “The love, support and kindness – it’s beautiful.”

The ceremony acknowledged the shooting at Michigan State University on Monday night that left three students dead and five wounded. That came nine months after a gunman killed 19 students and two teachers at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. Overall, since Parkland there have been at least 11 shootings at U.S. schools were multiple victims died.

“My heart bleeds for them – I know what those (Michigan State) families are going to go through,” said Max Schachter, whose 14-year-old son Alex died at Stoneman Douglas. “It is just horrible.”

President Joe Biden issued a video statement mourning the anniversary, saying that “to some of you, it seemed like yesterday,” and saluting the victims’ families and the survivors.

“What I admire most about you is how you found purpose through your pain. The world has already seen how strong you are, how resilient you are and how giving you are,” Biden said.

He then called for a ban on military-style semi-automatic rifles like the AR-15 the Parkland shooter used.

“We must say enough is enough,” Biden said.