These are the 17 lives lost in the Florida high school shooting
Two of the victims were coaches. One was a student who played trombone in the school band. Another proudly wore his ROTC uniform. Still another loved soccer. And most were so very young.
The gunman who opened fire at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, on Wednesday, wiped out lives and left friends and family struggling to cope after America's latest mass shooting. Here is a look at the 17 people police say were killed in the massacre:
"THE ENERGY IN THE ROOM"
Jamie Guttenberg's father, Fred Guttenberg, remembers his daughter as being "the life of the party," that person who made people laugh and was "the energy in the room."
With dark hair and a big smile, the 14-year-old loved to dance and hoped to become an occupational therapist and mom, an aunt said. Now, she is among the dead at her school.
"Back in October I lost my brother to cancer from his service in 9/11. That at the time seemed impossible to me. It made no sense. It couldn't happen and it couldn't get worse. This is worse," Guttenburg told hundreds gathered a community memorial honoring the victims.
Fighting away tears, Guttenberg said he couldn't recall if he told his daughter he loved her as she headed to school Wednesday. He called it "unfathomable" that she was slain in a place where she was supposed to be safe.
"I don't know what I do next," said Guttenberg. "My wife is home. We are broken. But I can tell you, don't tell me there's no such thing as gun violence. It happened in Parkland."
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GRANDFATHER SAYS HEROIC COACH "WAS WONDERFUL"
The grandfather of a coach hailed as a hero in the Florida school shooting said he takes some comfort knowing how his grandson died.
Assistant football coach Aaron Feis, who also served as a security specialist at the school, was shot to death while shielding students from bullets.
His grandfather, Raymond Feis of West Islip, New York, said his grandson "was wonderful."
"Everyone loved him and he was a jolly person. What takes away some of the pain is that he was a hero," Feis said.
Feis, 37, lived with his grandparent for about 10 years as a child. He graduated from the school in 1999 and worked mainly with the junior varsity, living in nearby Coral Springs with his wife and daughter.
"He always wanted to come back to New York because he grew up here," said Feis. "And he would come here with his 8-year-old daughter. And they were supposed to come up again now. It's horrific."
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HUGE CROWD FOR FIRST FUNERAL
At the first funeral for a Stoneman Douglas victim, mourners of 14-year-old Alyssa Alhadeff packed the Star of David chapel, its foyer and stood 15-deep outside.
Those outside stood respectfully, straining to hear voices chanting Jewish prayers and remembering the star soccer player as having "the strongest personality," and as a creative writer with a memorable smile.
The strongest male voice told mourners: "I ask you to live your life in full for Alyssa. Be strong for Alyssa. Be kind for Alyssa."
Earlier, her distraught mother screamed into CNN's camera demanding that President Donald Trump take action after the shooting.
"President Trump, you say what can you do?" Lori Alhadeff said. "You can stop the guns from getting into these children's hands! Put metal detectors at every entrance to the schools. What can you do? You can do a lot! This is not fair to our families and our children go to school and have to get killed!"
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FRIEND WON'T GET TO SAY 'I GRADUATED HIGH SCHOOL'
Joaquin Oliver, 17, was known by his nickname "Guac," short for "guacamole," because many struggled to pronounce his given name.
"My friend will literally never get to say, 'I graduated high school,'" said Tyra Hemans, a 19-year-old who said they had been friends since freshmen year.
She last saw him at school, before the shooting.
"It was just a brief 'Happy Valentine's,'" she said. "He was with his girlfriend and I was just like, 'Oh my God, you guys are so cute.'"
She added, "He's just a goofball. He's the only kid you'd know that would dye his hair bleach-blond, walk around school, put some tiger stripes in and just be unique. He was a unique soul."
Oliver used to play soccer, the goalkeeper position in community games, said friend Daniel Rodriguez, and he ran for homecoming prince last year.
Oliver, whose family is Venezuelan, sometimes cooked and shared the experience on Snapchat, along with lessons he learned from his grandmother, like how to grill a steak using a rock to properly seal the meat.
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ATHLETIC DIRECTOR 'WAS JUST AMAZING'
Chris Hixon, a married father of two and the school's athletic director, wasn't shy about jumping in wherever he was needed, said friend and one-time colleague Dianne Sanzari.
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