News Americas, FORT LAUDERDALE, FL, Fri. Feb. 16, 2018: A 17-year-old Latin American immigrant is among the 17 victims slaughtered by gunman Nikolas Cruz at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida Wednesday.
Venezuela-born Joaquin Oliver was confirmed among the 17 dead Thursday by his sister and cousin on social media.
“He didn’t make it… I love you cuz. I’m sorry for all this. I’m at a loss of words,” his cousin Javier Lovera tweeted Thursday morning.
“My brother has passed. I’m in such shock I don’t know what to say,’ his brother Sebi added. “I love you so much. I hope you’re in a better place. and I’ll never forget you.”
Oliver, who his friends called ‘Guac,’ immigrated to the US with his parents from the South American nation at the age of three. He was a senior at the school. Only a year ago, the teen finally became a naturalized U.S. citizen.
He was like a guardian who was always willing to protect others, family friend David Daboin told People.
Reports say he was close to his mother and girlfriend. Friends say he played basketball in a city rec. league and loved to write poetry.
Victims
The 16 other victims of the mass shooting were identified along with Oliver late yesterday by Broward County Sherriff Scott Israel. They are:
Alaina Petty, 14
Jamie Guttenberg, 14
Cara Lougren, 14
Martin Duque, 14
Alyssa Alhadeff, 14
Gina Montalto, 14
Alexander Schachter, 14
Peter Wang, 15
Luke Hoyer, 15
Carmen Schentrup, 16
Nicholas Dowret, 17
Helena Ramsey, 17
Meadow Pollock, 18
Scott Beigel, 35
Aaron Feis, 37
Christopher Hickson, 49
Florida Attorney General, Pamela Bondi, said her office will pay for funerals of all of the murdered students. This as a fundraising fund for the Stoneman Douglas Victims last night reached over US $551,000 of its 700,000 goal.
Jamaican Born Broward Schools Superintendent
Meanwhile, the Jamaican-born Superintendent of Broward County Schools urged actions and real solutions as the community moves forward from the school shooting in the days and weeks ahead.
Robert Runcie, superintendent of the 6th largest school district in the US with over 270,000 students, tweeted Thursday: “Let us find the courage to transcend fear, greed, hatred & divisions and collaborate to achieve a new level of consciousness to find real solutions that include investments in mental health services for our youth and common sense gun control for this nation.”
