LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A survivor and the parent of a victim who died in a Florida high school shooting shared their story Monday in the hopes that their grief inspires change in Louisville.
On Feb. 14, 2018, a gunman opened fire at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, killing three staff members and 14 students, including Joaquin Oliver.
"That shooting was 250,000 victims ago,"Â Manuel Oliver, Joaquin's father, said. "Joaquin was my best friend. I will never meet my son as a grown-up person, and that hurts a lot."Â
Oliver is spending 50 days traveling the country in a school bus to share his story.Â
"I did not start this fight," Oliver said. "I'm just fighting back. As a father, this is what I have to do. We are Joaquin's voices."
Oliver said his family moved to the U.S. for a safer life for his son.
"This is Joaquin's future," Oliver said. "This is the idea they sold me of America the free and home of the brave."
Joining Oliver on the two-month tour is Cameron Kasky, a survivor of the Parkland shooting.
A survivor and the parent of a victim who died in a mass shooting at a Florida high school in February 2018 stopped in Louisville on Monday, Aug. 7, 2023, to share their story in the hopes that their grief inspires change in the community. (WDRB photo)
"Gun violence comes in all shapes and sizes," said Kasky. "It will affect anybody. It doesn't discriminate."
They felt compelled to stop in Louisville because of how many people in the city can relate to their heartache.
"Joaquin should have been here," Oliver said. "Going to college, or not, just being happy. That's what we were looking for."
People like Rose Smith relate to Oliver, as she also lost her son to gun violence.
"My Ace was murdered," Smith said. "His life was taken in October 2014. On that particular day, my Ace received a death sentence. He was fatally injured. I was critically wounded."
Kentucky has some of the highest rates of gun violence in the nation.
"We're all meeting in a state where gun laws are among the worst in the country," said Kasky. "Kentucky ranks number 40 in gun violence, which is not a good thing."
As of Monday, the city of Louisville has seen 267 shootings and 98 homicides this year.
"Enough thoughts and prayers," Smith said. "We need action. Change is coming."
While Oliver will never get to see his son grow up, he hopes to inspire people to take a stand against the violence, so that other families don't have to share his pain.
"He should have turned 23 on August 4," he said. "What a terrible way to celebrate a birthday."
Nikolas Cruz, the now 24-year-old former student who opened fire at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, pleaded guilty in 2021 and was sentenced to life in prison.
Last week, gunfire erupted at the school again during a reenactment of the shooting by ballistics experts as part of a lawsuit by victims' families and the wounded, according to The Associated Press. The lawsuit accuses the Broward County deputy assigned to the school, Scot Peterson, of failing his duty to protect them and their loved ones. Peterson was acquitted at a criminal trial in June.
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