Father of Parkland victim responds to Texas shooting: ‘I am very angry’

Manuel Oliver, a father of a victim of the Parkland school shooting massacre in 2018, said on Tuesday that expressed his outrage over the latest shooting at a Texas elementary school. 

In an interview with CBS News, Oliver said that he and others have been trying to prevent this shooting from happening, but knew that an incident like this was bound to happen. 

“I am very angry,” Oliver told CBS News. “I think you’re going to need a lot of people like me to go on live TV, letting everybody know that we’ve been fighting against this.” 

“We were trying to prevent this. We knew that it was going to happen,” Oliver added. “We just don’t know where we know that it will happen tomorrow.” 

Oliver also called out politicians for having a soft response to this series of massacres, saying that families of victims don’t need “thoughts and prayers” responses from them. 

Oliver’s son, Joaquin,  was one of the 17 students and teachers killed when suspect Nikolas Cruz opened fire at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on Valentine’s Day 2018. 

“Again. So know where Governor Abbott knew this was going to happen. But that was not enough to believe that more guns are the solution. You will hear these politicians sending their thoughts and prayers, and some of them will say our hearts are with the families…well, guess what the families don’t need your freakin hearts,” Oliver told CBS News. “They need their kids. The kids are not there anymore.” 

“I feel very angry. Offended. And I just don’t understand..how come a whole society doesn’t wake up after these news,” Oliver concluded. 

This comes as Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R)  announced on Tuesday that 14 school children along with one teacher were killed following a school shooting at Uvalde, Texas. 

Local authorities identified the suspect as 18-year-old Salvador Ramos, saying that he entered the local elementary school and opened fire, with Abbott noting that Ramos was shot and killed by authorities responding to the incident.

Oliver, who has been a gun rights advocate since his son’s death, recently gardened headlines earlier this year for climbing on a crane near the White House to raise awareness on the issue.