Fred Guttenberg, whose 14-year-old daughter Jaime was killed along with 16 others during Wednesday’s Florida school shooting, spoke of her “unfathomable” death during a vigil for the victims.
“I sent her to school yesterday. She was supposed to be safe… What is unfathomable is that Jaime took a bullet and is dead”: The father of Florida school shooting victim, 14-year-old Jaime Guttenberg, spoke about his daughter at a vigil https://t.co/0zA9aGUxmC pic.twitter.com/4hqHxvCUNY
— CNN (@CNN) February 16, 2018
“I sent her to school yesterday. She was supposed to be safe… What is unfathomable is that Jaime took a bullet and is dead,” Guttenberg said.
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He went on to express regret that he couldn’t remember his last words to Jaime.
“My job is to protect my children. And I sent my kid to school. In the morning, things get so crazy…and I don’t always get to say ‘I love you.’ I don’t remember if I said that to Jaime yesterday morning.”
“I don’t know what I do next. My wife is home. We are broken,” he said.
Thousands of people gathered for the candlelight vigil in Parkland, Florida on Thursday night, when Guttenberg spoke not from a prepared speech but from his raw grief at the vigil.
Guttenberg spoke for three minutes, according to the Palm Beach Post, with tears streaming down faces in the audience throughout. He closed by thanking the people of Parkland for coming together in a powerful expression of support.
Religious leaders, government officials, school employees and other public officials came out to the amphitheater at Pine Trails Park, including about a dozen people from the Miami Dolphins and Chicago Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo.
Onstage there were 17 angel figures, representing the 14 children and three adults who were slain. Teenagers came through leaving flowers and lighting candles as they paused for a moment at someone they knew.
Toward the end of the vigil, attendees were urged to leave a Post-It note on one of the three walls surrounding the venue with a good deed they planned to do. Organizers wanted to capture the raw emotion of the night and make sure people stayed committed to kindness toward their neighbors.
The crowd gathered at the Parkland Amphitheater for prayer, song and uplifting speeches. A few protesters showed up with signs that read “enough is enough” and “no more guns,” CNN reports.
At one point, those in attendance broke out into a chant of “no more guns.”
Broward Cuunty Sheriff Scott Israel spoke at the vigil, promising the crowd there will be “common-sense gun laws” in the area, WSFA 12 reports.
Nikolas Cruz, the suspected gunman, was charged Thursday with 17 counts of premeditated murder. He reportedly confessed to the crimes and is being held in Broward County Jail without bond.
