Father mourns 8-year-old Fletcher Merkel, killed in Minneapolis school shooting

Ver Father mourns 8-year-old Fletcher Merkel, killed in Minneapolis school shooting - Diario As en Dailymotion

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00:00Yesterday, a coward decided to take our eight-year-old son, Fletcher, away from us.

00:19Because of their actions, we will never be allowed to hold him, talk to him, play with him,

00:27and watch him grow into the wonderful young man he was on the path to becoming.

00:35Fletcher loved his family, friends, fishing, cooking, and any sport that he was allowed to play.

00:45While the hole in our hearts and lives will never be filled, I hope that in time our family can find healing.

00:52I pray that the other victim's family can find some semblance of the same.

01:00I'm hopeful that all the wounded are able to make a full recovery and return home to their families.

01:07And finally, all the people, and especially the children, impacted by this horrific event

01:13are able to recover mentally and find strength to live loving, happy, and full lives.

01:21Over the past day, I've heard many stories accounting the swift and heroic actions of children and adults alike from inside the church.

01:35Without these people and their selfless actions, this could have been a tragedy of many magnitudes more.

01:43For these people, I'm thankful.

01:44Moving forward, we ask not for your sympathy, but your empathy.

01:53As our family and the Annunciation community grieve and try to make sense of such a senseless act of violence.

02:01Please remember Fletcher for the person he was and not the act that ended his life.

02:13Give your kids an extra hug and kiss today.

02:18We love you, Fletcher.

02:20You'll always be with us.

02:21We love you, Fletcher.

02:22We love you, Fletcher.

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02:39We love you, Fletcher.

02:40We love you, Fletcher.

02:41We love you, Fletcher.

02:42We love you, Fletcher.