The 14 of February was not a happy day for everyone, because it was also Four years of the massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland are commemorated, and the date was used by the father of one of the victims to make a request to President Joe Biden, from the top of Washington DC
Manuel Oliver, father of Joaquín Oliver, one of the 17 victims of the fatal shooting , climbed the crane of a building near the White House and showed a poster asking President Biden for new legislation on weapons.
Through his Twitter account, the man shared an image from above around 6 am on February 14: “ I was in DC in December and asked to meet with @POTUS. Today GUAC is with me making their own statement!” wrote.
“So that the whole nation can judge our reality. At 150 feet tall in front of the White House. Peaceful action. The police are on the scene!”
Moments later, around 6: 54 am, Oliver shared a video with the title: “Happy Valentine’s Day”.
“The whole world will listen to Joaquín today. It has a very important message”, he comments looking at the camera.
“I asked for a meeting with Joe Biden a month ago, I never had that meeting”, he commented, adding that there was a heavy police presence downstairs .
Joaquín’s father unfurled a huge banner on the crane, which showed a photo of his son who said: “54.000 people died as a result of armed violence during his mandate”.
Moments after carrying out the act, that managed to capture the attention of many, the man was arrested.
“More than anything I would tell the president that what we require of him is to take action, that words are not enough while words are said, deaths are happening, and that you have to have something very precise and very strong to do, such as an office dedicated to the problem of weapons, people dedicated exclusively to that, “he said in an interview with Telemundo Patricia Oliver, mother of Joaquín.
Manuel said that what he had done and the message on the banner was in memory of his son Joaquín.
Manuel’s activism together with his wife, Patricia, began with the loss of her son, Joaquín “Guac” Oliver, who was one of the 17 fatalities of the Parkland massacre.
The massacre, perpetrated by Nikolas Cruz, a former student of the school of 19 years old, became the seventh deadliest shooting in the United States since 1991, according to data from BBC Mundo.
Last year, Cruz pleaded guilty to 17 charges of first degree murder and 17 charges of attempted murder in the first degree.
It may interest you:
- Fourth Anniversary of Parkland Massacre Sparks Calls Against Gun Violence