Father of Parkland victim, in El Paso during shooting, says city will never be the same again

The father of a teen who was killed during the massacre at Marjory Stoneman High School in Parkland, Florida weighed in on the mass shooting at a shopping area in El Paso, which unfolded while he was visiting our city.

Manuel and Patricia Oliver were in El Paso this weekend to celebrate what would have been their son Joaquin’s 19th birthday on Sunday.

Manuel, an artist, put a mural together in El Paso at the Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center that was unveiled.

In an interview, the painter expressed his support for another city now in mourning due to gun violence.

“Sadly but true, um, it happened again, and we’ve been talking about this for a while, and I don’t get why they don’t get it,” he said. “This will never be the same city again.”

Seventeen students and staff were killed in the Stoneman Douglas shooting on Feb. 14, 2018.

Oliver and his wife are traveling the world urging people to change gun laws.