The Broward County Sheriff’s Office released the names of the 17 people killed Wednesday in the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. Relatives and friends of the victims took to social media Thursday to mourn and honor the people they lost. The victims were:
— Alyssa Alhadeff, 14
Alyssa, a freshman, had been reported missing by her grandmother Wednesday after the shooting. Her cousin Ariella Del Quaglio confirmed the student’s death via Facebook on Thursday.
— Scott Beigel, 35
Beigel was a geography teacher and a cross country coach at the school who unlocked his classroom to allow panicked students to take shelter inside during the shooting. He was struck and killed by a bullet while closing the door behind them.
Kelsey Friend, one of the students whose lives he saved, told CNN, “When he opened the door, he had to relock it so that we could stay safe, but he didn’t get the chance.”
Directly addressing Beigel’s family, Friend said, “Thank you for bringing and having this amazing person in life and giving him the power to be stronger than I could have ever been.”
Thomas Risley, 15, said he had been in Beigel’s world history class earlier in the day. They were doing assessments and talking about the Glorious Revolution.
Risley said he can’t believe his teacher is gone.
“He cared a lot about his students,” he said. “It’s going to be really sad walking into that classroom and not seeing him. I’m going to miss his colorful personality.”
— Martin Duque, 14
Martin, a freshman, was at school Wednesday and died in the shooting. His older brother Miguel, who graduated from Stoneman Douglas High last year, shared the news via an Instagram post early Thursday morning. “Words can not describe my pain,” he wrote. “I love brother Martin you’ll be missed buddy.”
— Nicholas Dworet, 17
Nicholas, a senior who had just received a swimming scholarship to the University of Indianapolis, was killed. Glenn Greenwald, a journalist with The Intercept, shared the news on Twitter.
— Aaron Feis, 37
Feis, an assistant football coach, was critically injured after jumping in front of the shooter to protect students. He died from his wounds Wednesday night. The school’s football team announced the news on its Twitter account.
— Jaime Guttenberg, 14
Jamie, a student at the school, was killed during the rampage. Her father, Fred, shared the tragic news in a Facebook post.
“My heart is broken. Yesterday, Jennifer Bloom Guttenberg and I lost our baby girl to a violent shooting at her school. We lost our daughter and my son Jesse Guttenberg lost his sister. I am broken as I write this trying to figure out how my family gets through this. We appreciate all of the calls and messages and we apologize for not reacting to everyone individually. Jen and I will be figuring things out today and so we ask that you respect our privacy. We will be getting messages out later regarding visitation. Hugs to all and hold your children tight.”
— Chris Hixon, 49
Hixon, the athletic director at the high school, was confirmed dead by family and friends Thursday. He previously served as South Broward High School’s athletic director.
— Luke Hoyer, 15
Luke was confirmed to have died on the third floor of the school by family members.
“This has devastated our family and we’re all in shock and disbelief. Our hearts are broken. Luke was a beautiful human being and greatly loved,” posted his uncle, Toni Brownlee, on Facebook. “Also, pray for the other families whose loved were also murdered so cruelly.”
His aunt, Mary Stroud-Gibbs, also shared her pain: “Our Luke was a precious child, who just went to school yesterday not knowing what was to come.”
— Cara Loughran, 14
Cara was confirmed dead by a peer counselor at her church.
“RIP Cara, and fly with the angels. You will be greatly missed, and we will always love you and celebrate your beautiful life,” her neighbor wrote on Facebook.
— Gina Montalto, 14
Gina, a freshman, served on the school’s winter guard team. She died late Wednesday night, friends and family confirmed on social media. Gina had been missing after the shooting and was not answering her phone.
One of her color guard instructors from middle school, Manuel Miranda, posted about her death Wednesday night.
“My heart is broken into pieces. I will forever remember you, my sweet angel,” Miranda told the Miami Herald. Miranda taught Montalto last year at Westglades Middle School in Broward. “She was the sweetest soul ever. She was kind, caring, always smiling and wanting to help.”
The Stoneman Douglas winter guard group was scheduled to perform at a regional event in Tampa this weekend.
— Joaquin Oliver, 17
Joaquin was born in Venezuela and moved to the U.S. at the age of 3 with his family. He had become a U.S. citizen in January 2017.
His Instagram account includes several photos with his mother and sister, to whom he was extremely close. His girlfriend, Victoria Gonzalez, confirmed he was killed in the massacre.
— Alaina Petty, 14
Alaina was confirmed dead, according to friends and family.
“There are no hashtags for moments like this, only sadness,” said Claudette McMahon Joshi, Petty’s great-aunt. “Our hearts are with them and all the families touched by this tragedy.”
In a statement, her family said Alaina was a member of the JROTC program and volunteered with the “Helping Hands” program of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, including a cleanup of the Keys after Hurricane Irma.
“It is impossible to sum up all that Alaina was, and meant, to her family & friends,” the family wrote. “Alaina was a vibrant and determined young woman, loved by all who knew her.”
— Meadow Pollack, 18
Pollack, a senior, planned to attend Lynn University. She was confirmed dead early Thursday.
“Please say a prayer for the family of an amazing girl I got to call my best friend growing up,” posted her friend Gii Lovito on Facebook. “Her life was taken way too soon and I have no words to describe how this feels.”
— Helena Ramsey, 17
Helena would have started college next year. Her family member, in a lengthy Facebook post, called her a “smart, kind hearted and thoughtful person.”
“Though she was some what reserved, she had a relentless motivation towards her academic studies, and her soft warm demeanor brought the best out in all who knew her. She was so brilliant and witty, and I’m still wrestling with the idea that she is actually gone.”
Helena’s death was confirmed via an official —yet incomplete — list of victims released by the Broward County State Attorney’s Office.
— Alex Schachter, 14
Alex, a marching band student, was confirmed dead by a former instructor as well as by Congregation Beth Am in Longwood.
— Carmen Schentrup, 16
Schentrup, a 2017 National Merit Scholar semifinalist, was confirmed dead Thursday morning by several friends on social media.
— Peter Wang, 15
Peter was in the school’s ROTC program, and he was last seen wearing the gray uniform with black stripes as he held open the door so others could escape, his cousin, Aaron Chen, told the Miami Herald. Peter, who Aaron described as brave, was in study hall when the shooting started.
His best friend, Gabriel Ammirata, said Peter was “funny, nice and a great friend. He’s been my best friend since third grade.”
Gabriel planned to celebrate the Chinese New Year on Thursday with Peter and his family at the Chinese restaurant Peter’s family owned.
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(El Nuevo Herald staff writer Johanna A. Alvarez contributed to this report.)
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© 2018 Miami Herald
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