A 15-year-old victim of Wednesday’s high school massacre in Florida held the door open for classmates as they fled the gunman before he was killed.
Peter Wang is one of the 14 students at Marjory Stoneman Douglas school in Parkland, Florida, who were killed by gunman Nikolas Cruz.
Peter’s grieving cousin Aaron Chan was also in the school at the time and saw him holding the door for classmates, dressed in his grey ROTC uniform.
He carried on running and it was the last time he saw him alive.
‘He wasn’t supposed to die. He was supposed to grow old with me,’ Aaron told First Coast News.
Peter Wang’s cousin told local media he last saw him holding the door for fellow students at the school on Wednesday as they fled the gunman. Peter, 15, (above in his ROTC uniform) was confirmed dead on Thursday
His best friend Gabriel Ammirata told The Miami Herald he was a ‘funny, nice and great friend’.
‘He’s been my best friend since third grade,’ he said.
Peter’s parents, who are Chinese and can only speak Mandarin, struggled through the chaos on Wednesday by relying on neighbors and friends to translate for them.
They, like other parents, rushed to a hotel which was chosen by authorities as a place for parents who hadn’t heard from their children to gather and wait for news.
Heartbreaking photographs from the room show the families waiting in anguish to learn if their child made it out alive.
The other thirteen killed were Jaime Guttenberg, 14, Nicholas Dworet, a high school senior, Martin Duque, 14, Meadow Pollack, 18, Cara Loughran, Alaina Petty, 14, Joaquin Oliver, 17, Luke Hoyer, 15, Alyssa Alhadeff, 15, Gina Montalto, 14, Carmen Schentrup, Alex Schachter, 14, and Helena Ramsey, 17, all died.
Peter’s friends said he was ‘smart and funny’. He had been missing all through Wednesday after the shooting
Peter’s students are Chinese and speak little English. They relied on a neighbor and friends for information and gathered with other distraught parents at the Marriott hotel where they sat waiting for news later into the night. They were given pizza and water to sustain themselves
Peter is pictured with his mother. He and thirteen other students were shot and killed
Track coach Aaron Feis, 37, geography teacher Scott Beigel, 35, and athletic director Chris Hixon, 49, were also all killed.
They all died heroes, protecting groups of children from the bullets.
Fifteen others were injured.
Gunman Nikolas Cruz is in custody and has been charged with 17 counts of murder.
His public defender Melissa McNeil offered him support on Thursday as he was arraigned and put her arm around him as he stood to face the judge.
She later told reporters outside the courthouse that he was remorseful: ‘He’s sad.
‘He’s mournful. He’s remorseful.
‘He is fully aware of what is going on, and he’s just a broken human being,’ she said.
Gunman Nikolas Cruz is in custody and was been charged with 17 counts of murder on Thursday. He is pictured with his public defender who comforted him in court and later said he was ‘remorseful’ and ‘a broken young man’
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, (right) was also killed shielding students