A petition is underway to award a hero ROTC student of the Parkland high school shooting with full military honors and burial.
Peter Wang, 15, died last Wednesday when gunman Nikolas Cruz opened fire on students at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida.
Peter’s cousin, who was inside the school at the time, said he last saw him holding the door open for other teenagers to flee.
He was wearing his ROTC uniform at the time and was shot in the head.
According to a neighbor who acted as a translator for his Mandarin-speaking parents, he was shot the most number of times by the gunman.
Now, his friends and others in the community are petitioning the White House.
Peter Wang, 15, was shot in the head as he held the door open for his classmates to flee last Wednesday at Marjory Stoneman Douglas school in Parkland, Florida
A petition is underway for Peter, whose dream was to attend West Point and later join the military, to receive full military honors and burial
They say he loved being a part of the cadets program and was proud to wear his uniform to school.
‘His selfless and heroic actions have led to the survival of dozens in the area. Wang died a hero, and deserves to be treated as such, and deserves a full honors military burial,’ the petition reads.
By Monday morning, it had received 25,000 signatures out of the 100,000 it needs.
Jesse Pan, Peter’s neighbor, told DailyMail.com last week how his distraught parents had to rely on him for information because they speak so little English.
When they heard news of the shooting, they and other parents flocked to the school then to a Marriott hotel nearby where they were told to stay and wait for news.
Devastating photographs showed them surrounded by water bottles and pizza boxe with other worried parents in the background, unable to do anything but wait for information.
They later learned that Peter was among the dead.
Peter’s cousin Aaron Chen (left) said was the ‘best friend anyone could have’. Others have described him as ‘so brave’
Peter was among 14 students killed. Three teachers also died in the shooting
‘They are devastated. The medical examiner told them Peter got the most shots to his body,’ Pan told DailyMail.com.
The boy’s mother (pictured) and father speak little English and had to rely on a neighbor to translate for them while awaiting news last week after hearing about the shooting
He added that it was Peter’s dream to attend West Point later and ‘serve his country’.
Aaron Chen, Peter’s teenage cousin, told The Miami Herald on Thursday: ‘I don’t want Peter just to be a victim.
‘I want him to be remembered as the best brother, cousin, son and friend that anyone can ask for.’
He described through tears how Peter, who was a year younger than him, protected him from bullies when he first arrived in America as a six-year-old.
‘Being the new kid sucks but imagine being the new kid that can’t speak English. I would have died if it wasn’t for Peter.
‘He made sure I wasn’t bullied at our first school. He protected me and I couldn’t protect him during the shooting.
‘Cruz shot Peter in the head whilst he was holding the door so that others could escape.’
Another cousin, Lin Chen, said Peter was ‘so brave’ and ‘kind’.
‘He is so brave. He is the person who is genuinely kind to everyone. He doesn’t care about popularity. He always liked to cheer people up.
‘He is like the big brother everyone wished they had,’ she told The Sun Sentinel.
Peter’s distraught parents are pictured waiting for news at the Marriott hotel where missing students’ relatives were told to gather last week
The shooting has sparked a wave of planned protests and walkouts from angry students at the school and others who are demanding legislative change from Congress.
Together, students and teachers are planning a mass walk-out on April 20 which they hope will force change.
Seventeen people, including three teachers, died in the shooting and another 15 were injured.
Gunman Nikolas Cruz slaughtered them all with a legally purchased AR-15 which he was able to buy despite having a history of violence and questionable mental health.
He was so dangerous that he was not allowed to bring a book bag to school.
Cruz, 19, is now in custody and has been arraigned on 17 murder charges. He is an orphan whose adoptive mother died a year ago.
He too was a former member of the ROTC program and was considered a ‘good shot’ by classmates.
PICTURED: Fourteen students, geography teacher, coach and athletic director shot dead in Florida high school massacre
Jaime Guttenberg, 14, (left) was described by relatives as a ‘kind-hearted, sweet’ girl. She attended the school with her younger brother who survived and rushed home afterwards. Senior Nicholas Dworet (right) was a gifted swimmer who had his sights set on 2020 Tokyo Olympics success. His devastated college student girlfriend is among those grieving his death. Friends said he was not just a talented athlete, but a ‘good guy’ who will be missed
Martin Duque, 14, (left) was missing for hours on Wednesday and his frantic family desperately appealed for him to get in touch on social media. On Thursday, his older brother Miguel confirmed his death. Martin was a freshman. Meadow Pollack, 18, (right) was preparing for college. Her father was at the school on Wednesday and showed her photograph around in the hope that she would be found alive
Cara Loughran (left) was missing on Wednesday afternoon. Her mother Denise and her father rushed to the designated hotel where parents were told to go to be reunited with their children in the hope that she would be found alive. Her grieving neighbor confirmed her death on Thursday. Alyssa Alhadeff, 15, (right) was eulogized by her mother who said she was a talented soccer player and creative mind. ‘All she had to offer the world was love… I just sent her to school and she was shot and killed,’ she said
Luke Hoyer, 15, (left) was described as a ‘precious’ child by his grandparents who confirmed his death. They found out about the shooting on television. They said he was a ‘good kid’ who ‘never got in trouble’. Joaquin Oliver, 17, (right) was also killed. Joaquin was a Venezuelan immigrant who came to the US with his family for a ‘better future’, they said on Thursday
Gina Montalto, 15, (left) was described as a ‘light and joy’. She and Jaime, another victim, volunteered at a local project called The Friendship Initiative where they acted as buddies for children with special needs. Gina’s mother Jennifer shared pleas to find her on social media on Wednesday. Alaina Petty, 14, (right) was also killed. Her Mormon church confirmed her death, saying she was a ‘valiant’ member
Carmen Schentrup, 16, (left) was also killed in the shooting. Carmen was a gifted student who last year was named as a semifinalist in the 2018 National Merit Scholarship Program. It includes students who score above average in their SATs or National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test. ROTC student Peter Wang, 15, (right) also died. His parents speak little English and relied on their neighbor to post social media appeals looking for him. They went to the Marriott hotel with other parents to wait for news of him on Wednesday night and have since confirmed that he was among those killed
Alex Schachter, 14, (left) was also killed. His mother died when he was a child and he attended the school in Florida with his brother, who survived. The teenager’s father Max said he was a ‘sweetheart of a child’ who ‘just wanted to do well and please his parents’. Helena Ramsey, 17, (right) was described by relatives as a ‘reserved’ and studious girl who was due to go to college next year
Geography Scott Beigel, 35, (left) was shot dead as he tried to lock the door of his classroom again after letting a group of fleeing students in to hide. They were running away from the gunman. Aaron Feis, 37, (right) died acting as a human shield. The track coach had thrown himself on top of the kids to stop the bullets from hitting him. He was a former student and was also a security guard at the school where he had worked for eight years
Athletic director Chris Hixon, 49, was also killed shielding students