Parkland Students Share Milestones Three Months After Shooting
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MIAMI (CBSMiami/AP) — Monday will mark three months since confessed shooter Nikolas Cruz killed 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High in Parkland.
Over the weekend one of the survivors, Samantha Fuentes, tweeted that she had something to celebrate - her face was finally shrapnel free.
Fuentes tweeted a photo of her face on Saturday, showing a wide smile despite bruises and a hospital bandage stretching from her ear to her mouth.
My face is finally shrapnel free! Regardless of the fact I look like I lost a fight, inside I'm winning in a way. I've been struggling so hard to love my face again, thank you for all your support. pic.twitter.com/3Y7q7fNniq
— Sam Fuentes (@funkpuncher) May 12, 2018
Fuentes was one of the student speakers who gave an emotional speech at the March for Our Lives in Washington. Her speech was memorable not only because she led the huge crowd in singing "Happy Birthday" for Nick Dworet, a classmate who was among the 17 people killed in the attack, but also because also had to interrupt her it to throw up behind the podium.
Fuentes is among the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School students who have made a point of reaching out to other young shooting survivors as they campaign for gun controls. She was honored with a Freedom of Expression Courage Award by PEN, the literary and human rights organization, for representing "an inclusive group of young people" in that effort.
Earlier Saturday, some of her classmates met in Miami with James Shaw Jr., the man who grabbed the hot muzzle of an AR-15 and wrestled it away from a gunman who killed four people and injured four others at a Waffle House in Tennessee. They too shared photos on social media, expanding a mutual admiration society.
"I met one of my heros today," Shaw tweeted below his picture with Emma Gonzalez.
David Hogg tweeted his own selfie with Shaw, saying "Wow just, wow @JamesShawJr9 lots of work ahead but the young people will win."
"Thank you great meeting you all, let's keep inspiring and bringing ppl together," Shaw responded.
(© Copyright 2018 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)