Obama sent a handwritten letter to Parkland shooting victim’s parents — but nothing from Trump
The parents of one of the victims in the Parkland shooting last month say that they received a nice letter from former President Barack Obama after their son was killed — but that President Donald Trump did not reach out at all.
Michael Schulman and Linda Beigel Schulman received the handwritten letter from Mr Obama earlier this month, and say they would have been moved by the note even if Mr Obama was not a former president. Their son, 35-year-old Scott Beigel, was killed February 14 after he unlocked the door to his classroom to let his students return to the safety of the class — but was shot dead before he could get back in.
“Your son seemed like an extraordinary young man, and Michelle and I grieve alongside you,” the letter to the couple read, according to New York Magazine. “We can only imagine the hardship you are going through; hopefully all the wonderful memories can help ease the pain. We’ll get the details about your fund in his honour. In the meantime, you are in our thoughts and prayers.”
The couple told that magazine that they hadn’t heard anything from Mr Trump since their son was shot, but that other politicians have reached out to express their condolences. They got a nice letter from Florida Sen Marco Rubio, they said, and from other members of Congress as well.
The couple said that they think the Parkland shooting is the final straw, and that the student activists will succeed where other movements have failed. The students at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School are pushing the conversation, and show promise to make sure that this is indeed the last major school shooting as the young students at the March in Washington Saturday who had survived a tragedy less than two months ago pledged.
“How many times has this gone on? Oh another school shooting. This one is different. This isn’t another school shooting. This is the school shooting that’s going to make a difference,” Ms Beigel Schulman said.
Saturday’s march in the US capital was attended by at least 200 students from Parkland, their families, survivors of other gun violence, and a heavy media presence that blasted coverage of the event throughout the day.
