‘Keeping them alive in our hearts forever’: Remembering the 17 who died at Stoneman Douglas High

Lisa J. Huriash, South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Updated ·8 min read

The pain is there, and it doesn’t just go away. The tears still come.

Six years after the Parkland mass shooting, the community joined together Wednesday in front of Eagles’ Haven at a strip shopping center in north Coral Springs. The community united to say out loud the names of the 17 who died at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High in Parkland on Feb. 14, 2018.

“Say the names as often as we can,” urged Sarah Franco, executive director at JAFCO-Jewish Adoption and Foster Care. That will mean “keeping them alive in our hearts forever.”

They said their names: Alyssa Alhadeff, Scott Beigel, Martin Duque Anguiano, Nicholas Dworet, Aaron Feis, Jaime Guttenberg, Christopher Hixon, Luke Hoyer, Cara Loughran, Gina Montalto, Joaquin Oliver, Alaina Petty, Meadow Pollack, Helena Ramsay, Alex Schachter, Carmen Schentrup and Peter Wang.

And so the community gathered to keep their memory alive. To cry. To simply be together as families of the victims lit candles in remembrance, and released white doves to take flight to help “let go” in their grief.

That’s when Gena Hoyer touched her heart, thinking of her Luke, her 15-year-old freshman who played basketball and video games.

“I don’t know what we’d do without the community,” she said after the lighting ceremony.

“Every day is heartbreaking without our beautiful Gina,” said Tony Montalto, who lost his 14-year-old daughter. “Some days it feels like it was just yesterday, some days it feels like it was way too long.”

But with the annual gathering at the wellness center, there is some comfort: “Knowing Gina is not forgotten is helpful,” he said.

Lori and Ilan Alhadeff visited their daughter at the cemetery Wednesday. She would have been 21 years old.

“Surrounded by love and support, that’s what helps us heal,” Lori Alhadeff said. “Knowing we have the love and support helps us get through the day.”

The wellness center offers support as the community “continues (their) healing journey, whatever that looks like for them,” said Melissa Michelin, Eagles’ Haven assistant director. “We’ll continue to do the commemoration every year as long as it’s needed.”

The 17 people who died in the Parkland shooting six years ago Wednesday were remembered in many ways across South Florida — with ceremonies, community service events, flags being flown at half-staff, and the release of doves and ladybugs.

Positivity and kindness

In Broward schools, students, staff and volunteers participated in volunteer and service projects as part of the school district’s “A Day of Service and Love.”

In Coral Springs, students and staff united on a field to create the shape of a heart. In Fort Lauderdale, students were joining other artists to paint murals. In Sunrise, chalk art displayed messages of peace, love and non-violence, and students created a banner to promote the school as a safe space for all. In Hollywood, students made banners and participated in a lady bug release. And many other schools presented similar events.

“We will never forget those who were killed or injured six years ago,” said Broward Schools Superintendent Peter Licata. “Students and staff are joining together for service projects and activities that focus on positivity, kindness and love in honor of our Fallen Eagles.”

Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, whose mascot is the eagle, also honored the memory of the 14 students and three school staff members who died.

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At Wednesday’s event at Eagles’ Haven, there were activities and presentations, all with a purpose.

That included a temporary tattoo station in shapes of infinity to remember Alyssa Alhadeff’s No. 8 she wore as a soccer player.

Painting a rose for Gina Montalto, whose middle name was Rose.

Plant for Helena Ramsay, a gardener.

Therapy dogs to honor Jaime Guttenberg, who was a dog lover.

Therapy ponies to remember Meadow Pollack, who loved horses.

A Nutella crepe station with a smoothie blender for Alex Schachter, who had a secret smoothie recipe.

Pizza and Oreos for Nick Dworet, who was a foodie.

Chick-fil-A nuggets for Luke Hoyer’s favorite treat.

Irish dancers did a jig for Cara Loughran, a dancer, and a song for Carmen Schentrup.

There was a JROTC color guard for Alaina Petty, Martin Duque and Peter Wang.

Sound healing, a type of music therapy, was offered in remembrance of Joaquin Oliver, who loved music.

Therapeutic fitness honored teacher Scott Beigel.

Peanut M&M’s, which would satisfy Chris Hixon’s sweet tooth, also were at the ready.

A rock-painting station was an activity dedicated for Coach Aaron Feis’ kindness.

‘I came out to support’

Among those in attendance was Marissa Gallagher, 15, who attends Stoneman Douglas as a sophomore.

When the tragedy happened, her older brother was a junior on campus, at a building next to where the shooting happened.

And her father, who is with Coral Springs Police, is among those who rushed to the scene to try to stop the shooter.

She was only in elementary school in 2018, but remembers the fear she felt for her father and brother. Both were uninjured. On Wednesday, she knew where she needed to be.

“I came out to support and be part of it,” she said. “We’re trauma-bonded with these people.”

In the morning she helped serve breakfast at Stoneman Douglas to first responders from several police agencies to say thank you, including the Broward Sheriff’s Office, Coral Springs and Coconut Creek.

“It’s almost numbing at this point,” she said. “But you never forget.”

At the rock-painting station, Mia Raducci, 23, of Coral Springs, painted “MSD Strong” on a rock.

Two who died in the shooting, Cara Loughran and Gina Montalto, had attended her church, and although she went to a different high school back in 2018, she felt the tragedy acutely, too.

“I wanted to be here,” she said. “I can’t think of Valentine’s Day anymore without Douglas.”

‘All of these things matter’

U.S. Rep. Jared Moskowitz, D-Parkland, spent much of Wednesday remembering what happened six years ago on Valentine’s Day. “It feels like just yesterday (that) the shooting happened in my high school.”

Moskowitz said he hasn’t celebrated Valentine’s Day since.

In appearances on the MSNBC “Morning Joe” program, in a speech on the House floor, and at a news conference in the Capitol, he described what happened at the high school he attended and the anguished reactions as parents learned their children had been killed. He also cajoled his colleagues to take action to prevent gun violence — and professed optimism that Congress would someday act.

Moskowitz was a state representative in Tallahassee when the massacre occurred, and was instrumental in passage of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas School Safety Act in the state Legislature.

He started taking Democratic and Republican colleagues through the building then, and has continued to do so as a member of Congress, allowing them to see the effects of the carnage and learn how, possibly, it could be prevented.

“Within the horrors of those walls are lessons for us to do, not just on gun violence prevention, but on school safety. How you install a door matters, how you put in a window matters, how, how you train your teachers matters, all of these things matter,” he said.

He said the dysfunctional way Washington, D.C., operates makes it challenging to pass national legislation, more than it was in Republican-controlled Tallahassee.

He praised Republican colleagues for a bipartisan effort in Tallahassee, and said it was a model for the nation.

“They did the right thing, and history has shown they did the right thing and there are no protests in Florida that you can’t buy a gun when you want to buy a gun. So we didn’t affect anyone’s Second Amendment rights. And yet we’re keeping people safe in schools or the grocery store or the movie theater. They are much safer than we were before February 14th,” he said.

More than half a dozen members of Congress joined Moskowitz at the Capitol news conference.

U.S. Rep. Maxwell Frost, D-Orlando, said he and Moskowitz introduced the Identify Gun Stores Act, which would prevent states from prohibiting credit card companies from establishing a category code for guns and ammunition purchases.

Florida has such a law prohibiting credit-card companies from creating guns and ammunition categories.

Frost cited the 2016 Pulse nightclub massacre in Orlando in which 49 people were killed. Frost said the shooter ran up $26,000 in credit card charges for guns and ammunition in the 12 days ahead of his killing spree, and before he did that he ran online searches to determine if the unusual spending would get flagged by credit card companies.

The legislation would seek to let credit card companies implement a new category code to better identify gun and ammunition sellers, a step toward helping identify suspicious purchasing patterns.

Staff writers Anthony Man and Juan Ortega contributed to this news article.