'Journey Of Healing': Parkland Shooting Survivors Visit Pittsburgh
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PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- City of Pittsburgh officials are hosting students, teachers, parents and other community members from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, this weekend.
Stoneman Douglas High School is the site of one of the nation's deadliest school shootings. It happened in February of 2018.
Today, some of the school's students and other community members have traveled to Pittsburgh.
There are several events planned for the visitors, including a meeting with students of Taylor Allderdice High School in Squirrel Hill.
They also had an emotional visit to the nearby Tree of Life Synagogue, where a gunman opened fire last October, killing 11 people and wounding seven others.
Lots of hugs & greetings after the bus with family and community members in Parkland, FL arrive at the Tree of Life @kdka pic.twitter.com/Zm88tcrL68
— Lindsay Ward (@LindsayWardTV) April 5, 2019
About two-dozen people gathered under a canopy in front of the synagogue this morning. Organizers said the event was not only about coming together in tragedy, but also about healing.
They shared stories and memories about the victims in both mass shootings.
"Another moment in this journey of trying to heal myself and be part of healing for others," said Fred Guttenberg, an activist whose daughter was killed in the school shooting. "It's been a horrible year."
A lot of tears but also a lot of stories being shared about the victims lost in these two horrific tragedies. @KDKA pic.twitter.com/bB3PQmafCj
— Lindsay Ward (@LindsayWardTV) April 5, 2019
This weekend, the Parkland visitors will be honored at the Pittsburgh Pirates' game, and visit the Jewish Community Center.
In January, Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto and Parkland shooting survivor and activist David Hogg sat side-by-side at a panel discussion on gun violence in Washington DC.
This afternoon, Mayor Bill Peduto sat down with the Parkland visitors in Downtown Pittsburgh. Some held back tears while sharing heartbreaking details about losing a loved one in last year's mass shooting.
But what wasn't held back were their passionate pleas for reasonable gun safety.
Watch Mayor Bill Peduto Speak With Parkland Shooting Survivors and Their Families:
"Do you want to be safe? Do you want your children to be safe? Do you want your friends and co-workers to be safe?" asked Linda Beigel Schulman, whose son Scott was killed in the shooting. "No one answers no."
Peduto says the stories that were shared by the Parkland visitors today brought back memories of what Pittsburgh went through on Oct. 27, 2018, the day of the Tree of Life Synagogue massacre.
He claims it was a return of loss and pain -- but also something else. "That every person that's around this table has decided to do something positive out of something so terribly negative," Peduto said. "And in their own way, have been able to make change occur."
The Center for Loving Kindness and Civic Engagement of the Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh organized the visit.