When a gunman tore through Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on Wednesday, killing 17 people and injuring several others, a student named Peter Wang is said to have selflessly held open doors for classmates and teachers to escape the building as gunshots rang through the air.
During the courageous act, he was fatally shot, and now people want him to be posthumously honored.
Wang was one of 14 beloved students killed in the Feb. 14 shooting rampage. The 15-year-old student was a JROTC cadet, last seen in uniform holding a door open so others could escape the attack. Wang’s noble actions during those harrowing moments have been shared far and wide on social media, and many people have signed a White House petition is calling for a full honors military burial for the fallen cadet.
“His selfless and heroic actions have led to the survival of dozens in the area,” the petition reads. “Wang died a hero, and deserves to be treated as such, and deserves a full honors military burial.”
The petition garnered more than 14,000 signatures as of Sunday morning, and it needs 100,000 by March 18 to get a response from the White House. The petition can be viewed here.
Throughout the chaos of the shooting, friends and relatives of Wang thought he was missing. After checking with local hospitals, they found out he had been killed.
“He wasn’t supposed to die,” Wang’s cousin, Aaron Chen, told First Coast News.
