PARKLAND, FLA. (WSVN) - Hundreds of people have come out to pay their respects at a memorial established for the victims of the shooting at Marjory Stoneman High School.
Days after the 17 victims were gunned down, visitors to the memorial at the Parkland Amphitheater are still working to come to grips with the tragedy.
“All of them had a role to contribute to our society — to this world, and that was taken away from them, and it’s not fair,” said visitor Lemnda Tangvie. “Now that they’re not able to live out their full mission in life, maybe I can do something to help and make the world a better place, for not only my child, but for other people’s children.”
Seventeen angels lined the stage for the 17 lives lost. “I can’t even begin to imagine the pain that the victims’ families are feeling,” said visitor Lenny Riemer.
Now, the families are in the process of laying the victims to rest. The funerals for Alyssa Alhadeff and Meadow Pollack took place Friday, and the funeral for Joaquin Oliver was held Saturday.
Alhadeff’s mother, Lori Alhadeff, is now calling on lawmakers to make a difference. “Instead of going after law-abiding citizens, we need to focus on the crazy people that can get their hands on semi-automatic guns.
“I think this community right now needs some healing, needs some prayer, and they absolutely need to feel some kind of comfort,” said Santiago Cuellar of Life Fellowship Church.
Despite the tragedy, the community said it will not be broken.
“It’s a very special community, and we shouldn’t have to be going through this,” one woman said. “No community should ever be going through this.”
However, small steps towards healing could be seen being made, with doctors announcing that the last critical patient from the shooting has improved to fair condition.
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