NEWTOWN, Conn. (AP) — The father of a 6-year-old girl killed in the Connecticut elementary school massacre says his deep pain is comforted by the memory of how bright, loving and creative his daughter was.
Robbie Parker says his daughter Emilie was artistic and was always quick to draw a picture or make a card for friends. He says the world is a better place because Emilie was in it.
Parker was among the first parents to speak about the loss of one of the 20 children who died in Friday's shootings. He struggled to collect his breath at first, much less to speak. He says he's not mad and expressed sympathy for the shooter's family.
Parker says, "She was beautiful. She was blond. She was always smiling."
Western Connecticut State University President James Scmotter says the university community has been touched directly by the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School.
He says it is with immeasurable sadness that friend and colleague Jimmy Greene has suffered the terrible loss of his daughter, Ana. He added that the University will be at his side to do all they can to help him and his family through this unfathomable tragedy.
Plans for a memorial service for the victims are in the very beginning stages and more information will be forthcoming.
Puerto Rican relatives of one of the 20 children killed say the family of a 6-year-old girl who was shot had just moved to the U.S. two months before the shooting.
The grandmother of Ana Grace Marquez says her family had moved from Canada to Connecticut and enrolled the girl at Sandy Hook Elementary School because of its solid reputation.
Elba Marquez told The Associated Press late Friday that the family had moved because the girl's mother had been hired to teach at a local university.
Elba Marquez's brother, Jorge Marquez, said Ana Grace had a 9-year-old brother who was at the school during the shooting Friday but was not injured.
The family flew from Puerto Rico to Connecticut Saturday for the girl's funeral.
