PARKLAND, Fla. – A new book tells a heartbreaking tale of a child’s last day at school.
But for Patricia Oliver, the story was all too real.
Called “Joaquin’s First School Shooting,” her children’s book tells the story of how her son, Joaquin, was murdered in a mass shooting at Parkland’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
“The end of the day, was also my own,” an excerpt reads. “Bled out on the floor, and never got home.”
It’s described as a “children’s book to explain gun violence to childish politicians.”
Oliver will be visiting Washington to hand-deliver the book to lawmakers.
“This is a tool more than a book,” Oliver said. “This will bring a lot of conversation to different tables.”
“It’s very hard to read, but it’s necessary,” she added. “Because it’s no worse than losing your own kid to gun violence.”
‘Live for Alyssa’ gala
Another Parkland parent honored their child’s legacy on Friday.
At Parkland’s Golf and Country Club, the “Live for Alyssa” gala, in honor of Alyssa Alhadeff, who was also lost at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, will help raise funds for Make Our Schools Safe, a non-profit that aims to improve school safety.
“This is the third year that we’re doing the event,” Alhadeff said. “We are going to raise money to help to pass Alyssa’s Law nationwide as a standard level of school safety protection in every school across this country.”
Alyssa’s Law, already a state law, is a mass notification in a life-threatening emergency situation where a teacher can press a button that is directly linked to law enforcement.
“I believe that having panic buttons, having that mass notification in life-threatening emergencies will save lives,” Alhadeff said.