Two years ago, my daughter Carmen was gunned down in the massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. She doesn't want to remember her that way, but instead as the genuine and intelligent girl she was. "Just laying there still and there. The book and Schentrups own research opened his eyes to issues many opponents of capital punishment point to in their critiques of the death penalty, one being its racist history in the United States and how unevenly its applied to defendants of color. Before they moved west, April, who was then an elementary school principal, was given a newly created leadership job: director of school safety and security for the entire Broward County district. What made the hard days even worse was learning about all of the things that went wrong leading up to the shooting. hide caption. from CNN: Some people are just sad he's not with us anymore. hide caption. Samantha Fuentes: Was shot multiple times in both legs and sustained shrapnel wounds to her legs and face. My Account; Password Reset . Broward pastor sells church out from under parish to fuel drug habit, authorities say, They were pulled over for tinted windows in Florida. "All I kept saying was, 'I just want to know where my daughter is,'" she says. "I see this as trying to make the world a better place for my kids who are still here," Philip says. Carmen Schentrup's death was reported by family members and friends on social media. "It isn't an either/or. Her family was also planning a trip that summer to the island nation, where some of her relatives live. But Feb. 14, we're just gonna be together.". After that, the bullet was fragmented into multiple fragments that perforated the lungs, liver, kidney and exits on the left lateral side of the torso, Boiko testified. Wilford declined. Many of the Parkland victims families have endorsed the prosecutors pursuit of the death penalty, even knowing that the trial would be excruciating. And hugging Evelyn a little bit harder. The gunman shot out a window in the class door. ", "This happened 19 years later after Columbine, five years later after Sandy Hook," April adds. Thats not what a Florida doctor took out, state says, Ghislaine Maxwell appeals verdict and 20-year sex-trafficking sentence, DeSantis criticism of Orlando prosecutor overlooks key facts about shooting suspect, Police report: Arrested Opa-locka cop beat wife, kids for years. And when a hail of rifle bullets cut her down in her classroom, the high-velocity bullets caused extensive damage to her body, an associate medical examiner testified on Friday, underscoring the devastating carnage wrought by the AR-15 fired by shooter Nikolas Cruz. Schentrup, who was an 18-year-old freshman at the University of Central Florida when his sister was killed, remembers her as a brainy and ambitious teenager, someone whose focus was doing well in. Following the sentencing of Parkland shooter Nikolas Cruz, 24, to life without parole for his massacre of 17 people (14 children) in 2018, parents of the young victims came forward to blast the decision to spare him the death penalty. They have sat in a downtown Fort Lauderdale courtroom nearly every day since the state began presenting its case last week, shaking their heads, dabbing their eyes and holding on to one another during the most difficult moments. As inspiration, the Schentrups give credit to the Parkland students who have created a nationwide movement around this issue. Carmen was in her AP Psychology class, just minutes from finishing the school day and returning home to our family. The 14-year-old, who performed Irish dance, was set to appear in a St. Patrick's Day festival the month after her death. But hes not confident his own position will prevail in jurors minds, telling CNN he believes the sentence will be death. She recalls the family's frantic search for information: calling friends, sending out messages on social media, driving from hospital to hospital searching for Carmen. Her mom was amazing and did great as well. wrote in 2019 in The South Florida Sun Sentinel. hide caption. But not all.. Even so, Ms. Risher said she does not regret attending the trial, which she described as some of the hardest days of her life. Funeral Home Services for Carmen are being provided by Kraeer Funeral Home and Cremation Center of Coral Springs, Florida. I was thinking it could've been him or Kyle Laman but Kyle escaped and the body stayed put in the video. Such is the nature of capital punishment: Pursuing a death sentence, even against a defendant whose guilt has never been in doubt, requires putting a community that has already survived an unthinkable tragedy through more agony. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images), beyond the case of his sisters killer to capital punishment, its legacy as a tool of racial oppression, eventually conduct research to find a cure for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, After the killer pleaded guilty last year, according to a 2020 report by the Death Penalty Information Center. Some of the relatives of those murdered, listening in court, grimaced, shook their heads or put their hands to their faces as he explained the internal damage caused by the bullets. If we choose to wait, there will just be more parents like us. "Lots of people knew this person was troubled. Couresy of the Schentrup family "It felt like, here's this mom who's grieving or vocal about all these issues, and let's just give her a job and make it seem to the public like they're doing a good thing. Robert Schentrup at his Seattle apartment on September 15, 2022. Alyse Young for NPR And hopefully that doing something creates a change for the positive. April, who worked as an elementary school principal near Parkland, Fla., now advocates for gun reform. And they have seen autopsy photographs of almost all of the victims, most of whom were shot more than once. April finds that now in a new city, on a different coast, meeting new people the simplest questions can be the hardest to answer. The first hint she got that something was wrong was when she received a baffling text message from daughter Evelyn. Her mother said He shot her 10 times. Carmen was 15. A native of San Diego, he graduated from the University of Southern California and joined the Herald in 2002 as a sports reporter. Dr. Boiko described autopsies of four students, and the details were gut-wrenching. And he believes its morally wrong for the state to take the life of an individual because that individual took the life or lives of others, he said, quoting a phrase often attributed to Mahatma Gandhi, An eye for an eye makes the whole world go blind., Here's why the Parkland shooter is facing a jury even though he has already pleaded guilty. "I felt like I had to do something to help the families in whatever way I could." Im pretty sure he saw Cruz and then turned to run and was shot in the back of the head while he was turning. Some sources say he was killed before he could get up from his desk but other sources say that he was killed when him and a group of students hid in a corner that was in the direct line of sight of the door. The Schentrups' children are involved, too. Police arrested 19-year-old former student Nikolas Cruz for killing 17 people at the high school. Cruz has already pleaded guilty, and the state is asking the jury to send the 23-year-old to Florida Death Row for execution. Victim of school shooting in Parkland, Florida She has been cremated and ashes will be given to her family here is the obituary Carmen Schentrup passed away on February 14 . Carmen Schentrup had a laser focus on her future a straight-A student and National Merit . The 16-year-old was a 2017 National Merit Scholar semifinalist. Schentrup, who was an 18-year-old freshman at the University of Central Florida when his sister was killed, remembers her as a brainy and ambitious teenager, someone whose focus was doing well in. "I think it was just hard for them being around so many reminders of her," she says. And I say 'Yup, that's Parkland, Fla." ', "But I wonder," she says, her voice catching, "do they know the people that died? Later finished off with multiple shots to the chest and abdomen. Also it could be that whoever originally stated he was shot in the back of the head (report came from one of the officers who evacuated Coach Hixon) saw the back of the head wound and mistook it for an entry wound when it couldve been an exit wound actually. Carmen died one week shy of her 17th birthday. Jamie Guttenburg (Just inside 3rd floor stairwell): Shot in the back through the spinal cord. On that day, my youngest daughter would survive the mass shooting in Parkland, FL and her 16-year-old sister, Carmen, would be left for dead in her AP Psychology class. My parents beliefs and the beliefs of the other parents are different than my belief on the death penalty. She was known as a fountain of talent: A violin, guitar and piano player. Carmen Schentrup, 16, suffered five wounds, including a lethal shot to the brain. Image Credit: Amy Beth Bennett/AP/Shutterstock. Carmen Schentrup was a 16-year-old student who attended Stoneman Douglas high school. We let that happen. 2023 Cable News Network. I think it could be either one of them tbh since we dont have a definitive answer right now. It would be 12 excruciating hours before an FBI agent finally confirmed to the Schentrups that their daughter was among the 17 dead. "She was driven by a curiosity about the world, and her place in it.". We need to do something more than pray and console each other. It makes sense that most of the wounded were shot in the arms or legs. Updated They want to see loopholes in background checks closed. They'll be adding their voices to a chorus of demands that political leaders act to reform gun laws. A portrait of Carmen, given to the family by a Parkland artist, hangs in the Schentrups' living room, not far from the metal urn that holds her ashes. Shot a single time in the head from close range afterwards. Additionally, a bullet traveling through the body at a high rate of speed can cause hydrostatic shock. Alyse Young for NPR And the way she died and the unusually public nature of it was strange and confusing. Late in the night, she received a devastating phone call from the sister of one of Carmen's classmates. The wounded students have also detailed a litany of injuries inflicted by the AR-15 bullets shattered kneecaps, pierced lungs and close-call grazes to the head. They were among the 17 people killed by a gunman at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, on Valentine's Day in 2018. Theresa Robinovitz cries after reading her victim impact statement during the penalty phase of the trial of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooter Nikolas Cruz at the Broward County Courthouse in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2022. With more urgency than ever before, the Schentrups support gun control measures such as banning the sale of assault-style weapons and high-capacity magazines. (Amy Beth Bennett/South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP, Pool). Also on Friday, jurors saw the spent AR-15 magazine clips found on the scene. For Nicholas Dworet, we definitely now know he was with the group that went to the more exposed corner. from Reuters: Those abilities will come but they're still not with . So I'm thinking that the moaning and heavy breathing in the 1213 video is actually Maddie since a bullet to the right temple would be near instant? What happened to his brother Zachary Cruz? Chris Hixon (first floor hallway, west end): Initially shot multiple times in the leg (s). She got killed in a deadly shooting by the alumni of her school inside the premises. One boy was hit with 12 gunshots, including four to the head. FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. Peter Wang's mother has four tattoos memorializing her 15-year-old son, one inked on Feb. 14 each year since he was killed. After her son shared his statement on Twitter expressing his opposition, April Schentrup retweeted it, writing, I love but disagree with my son., If police did their job that day the shooter wouldve been killed at MSD. I just can't be here.' Carmen Schentrup's parents find sleep elusive. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________. Her parents, Philip and April, speak with soft wonder as they share memories of their daughter, who showed she was gifted from an early age. And maybe, maybe you'll be able to see her then. According to Why Meadow Died, Feis had gunshot residue/burn marks on his hands indicating that he may have tried to make a grab for Cruz's rifle barrel since he was fairly close to Cruz. While son Robert remained in Florida to attend college, the rest of the family moved to Washington state. A. It's definitely not easy. The family moved mostly for Philip's job; he works for a tech company based in the Pacific Northwest. Hers is one of 17 shrines to the victims of the Parkland shooting. hide caption. At the Parkland Trial, Families Must Endure Grisly Evidence on Repeat, https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/29/us/parkland-school-shooting-trial.html. FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. To shield heartsick families from the most macabre details of how their loved ones were murdered in a mass school shooting in Parkland, Fla., the court handling the gunmans sentencing trial has taken an extraordinary step: Graphic videos and photographs are shown only to the jury, so that victims relatives and others in the courtroom gallery do not have to endure them. Evelyn Schentrup wears a sweatshirt designed by students involved with the March for Our Lives organization. Schentrup was dreading the court proceedings, he wrote in a statement, (b)ecause this is the part where people will tell me that retribution will bring justice and healing to me and my family., This is the part where pundits on TV will invoke the name of my sister to support the murder of another human being, he said. As I sat down I remember telling myself, if I were to get shot anywhere I wouldn't make it, I needed to get behind something. For example, there was the implicit pressure to be "Parkland Strong. Helena Ramsey (Room 1214): Killed by one or two gunshot wounds to the chest area. I had to look deep into my values and say, is this something that connects with it? Philip talks with Evelyn before leaving for work. Another girl, shot four times, was missing much of her arm. appreciated. The same girl, who was shot nine times, suffered another fatal wound that severed her spinal cord. When Carmen decided she wanted to learn German, she taught herself. She especially adored the Harry Potter series, identifying with the brainy character Hermione. It was only in the last year and a half or so, he said, with the trial approaching that he thought about it more and his opinion was clarified, thanks in part to Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan Stevenson, the founder and executive director of the Equal Justice Initiative. The other half was diagonally across from the window, in complete view. They learned about the long chain of security failures at the high school, including warnings that were ignored, gates that were left unlocked, and a long delay in calling a "Code Red" alert once the shooting began. A small number of people connected to the tragedy have publicly opposed capital punishment, in part because the very process of securing a death penalty verdict and waiting out the inevitable years of appeals would be so difficult. Was killed after opening the door to his classroom to let students in. But it feels necessary. They have to prove that there are 17 murders and 17 attempted murders, Ms. Levine said. Robert Schentrup of Brady United, a national gun-reform group, lost his 16-year-old sister, Carmen, in the Parkland shooting. '", Carmen Schentrup at age six. Discovery Company. In the animated video that shows the shooting's events, there's someone who survived the shooting on the 3rd floor, but just lays there, I guess playing dead? This is the part where people try to convince me that vengeance should make me feel better and that it will bring me closure so that I can continue to heal., But I do not f**king care, Schentrup wrote, because my sister is dead, and killing someone else will not bring her back.. I also feel a certain responsibility to let it be known, he added, so people can if theyre saying, well, I defer to the victims make an informed choice about their own feelings on this issue.. 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