Thousands of people are petitioning the White House to grant a military funeral to one of the students slain in Wednesday’s massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida.
Peter Wang, 15, was a member of the Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps and, according to witnesses, sacrificed his life while in uniform to save others during the mass shooting.
As the gunman approached Wang’s class, “he was pointing the door open for other people to escape and then he was struck by the bullets,” classmate Aiden Ortiz told TV station WPLG-10, Miami’s ABC affiliate.
“I want people to know he died a hero,” Mr. Ortiz said. “He died saving many people.”
As a result, Mr. Ortiz and Rachel Kuperman, also a friend of the slain cadet, have set up a petition at the White House “We the People” website.
The petition says Mr. Wang “died a hero, and deserves to be treated as such, and deserves a full honors military burial.”
The petition needs 100,000 signatures within 30 days to get a mandatory White House response, though optional acknowledgment is possible at any time. As of 9:30 p.m. Sunday the petition had almost 18,000 signatures.
Mr. Wang’s funeral is scheduled for Tuesday, ABC reported.
• Victor Morton can be reached at vmorton@washingtontimes.com.
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