PARKLAND, FLA. (WSVN) - The father of one of the victims of the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School is painting murals across the country to honor his son and to demand change.

Manuel Oliver has painted several murals across the United States. The most recent one was painted in Los Angeles, joining the ones existing in Miami and New York.

“This is for Joaquin. He’s still out there with a loud voice fighting for his rights. Now he’s out marching for his life,” Oliver said.

Oliver, who said his son was his best friend, said the murals are meant to give his boy a voice, and to demand change and stricter gun laws.

“The day I dropped him at school and let me tell you something, my kid got shot on Valentine’s Day. He was carrying flowers for his girlfriend when I dropped him at school. He was going to call me back after to tell me how that happened, how was it giving her the flowers. That call, I never got. But, I got with me [a pendant] — made by Joaquin’s girlfriend.”

The pendant is made from the very same flowers Joaquin was supposed to give to his girlfriend.

Now, Joaquin’s parents said they want to make sure this doesn’t happen again.

“The only reason we are here, and I am trying to stand here, is because we have to stop seeing this situation. We have to. We have to have common sense,” said Joaquin’s mother Patricia Oliver.

Personal notes and messages have all become part of the mural. One note came from classmate and activist David Hogg.

“We are really trying to find hope out of such a tragedy,” Hogg said. “We are trying to change America for the better to save people’s lives. That’s what we are trying to do at the end of the day. It doesn’t matter if you are Republican or Democrat, we are all Americans and we need to work together to save lives.”

And though Joaquin can no longer speak for himself, he is now one of many faces of a movement sweeping all across the country.

“We’re going to be Joaquin’s parents forever, till the day that we cannot be here anymore,” Joaquin’s father said.

The event is part of Parkland 17, an art exhibit organized by Miami Heat player Dwyane Wade and created by artist Evan Pestaina in Wynwood. Joaquin was a fan of the Miami Heat, and was buried in a Dwyane Wade jersey.

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