Jasper Johns. Flag. 1954-55
A Few Stories of US School Shootings Victims
- Demetrius Hewli - His family, who has sought privacy, donated his organs. Demetrius would have turned 17 next week. (CBS News)
- James Mattioli - James Mattioli, 6, was another one of the young victims at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Fondly called "J" for short, the energetic young boy loved math, sports and cuddling on the couch with his mom at the end of the day. (NY Daily News)
- Peter Wang - Peter, 15, was a member of the JROTC program at Douglas. His cousin, Aaron Chen, told the Miami Herald that Peter was last seen wearing his uniform and holding the door open so that people could escape. He had planned on celebrating the Chinese New Year with his family. (NBC News)
- Victoria Soto - Soto, 27, a first-grade teacher at Sandy Hook Elementary, moved her students away from the classroom door when she heard gunfire, which students initially "thought were hammers falling," according to the father of one of her students. "That's when the gunman burst in, did not say a word, no facial expressions, and proceeded to shoot their teacher," said Robert Licata, whose 6-year-old son, Aiden, escaped by running past the shooter." (CNN)
- Aaron Feis - Feis, 37, died while using his body to shield students from bullets as the gunman opened fire. (NBC News)
- Anne Marie Murphy - A hero. That's how a first responder reportedly described Murphy, 52, to her father. He told Newsday that authorities told him her body was found in a classroom, covering young children killed in the shooting in an apparent attempt to shield them. (CNN)
- Scott Beigel - Beigel, 35, was one of several adults at the school who died while protecting students from streams of gunfire. According to the Sun-Sentinel, Beigel was shot and killed when he unlocked his classroom door in order to allow students to take refuge from the gunman. He was mortally wounded while trying to re-lock the door. (NBC News)
"The right to bear arms ... does not and never will overpower the individual's right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." - Florence Yared
"After first graders were gunned down at Sandy Hook, what did you do? Not a damn thing. After 49 people, including my two brothers, were murdered at Pulse, what did you do? Not a damn thing. You plugged your ears and turned your eyes and hoped that we would stop talking. Now we're here again. 17 people are dead. 14 of them are children. And what did you do yesterday when given the chance to do something about it? Not a damn thing." - Brandon Wolf
