It is hard to imagine the kind of courage, grace, and conviction it takes be a person like Robbie Parker. Less than 24 hours after his 6-year-old daughter, Emilie, died at the hands of a crazed gunman, Parker somehow mustered the intestinal fortitude to make a statement to reporters (h/t The Blaze).
Choking back the tears, Parker not only memorialized his daughter but offered prayers for the family of the man who killed her. A video of the remarks follows.
It’s a horrific tragedy, and we want everybody to know that our hearts and our prayers go out to them — this includes the family of the shooter. I can’t imagine how hard this experience must be for you, and I want you to know that our family, and our love and our support goes out to you as well.
At this time our thanks go out to so many people … My daughter Emilie would be one of the first ones to be standing and giving her love and support to all those victims, because that’s the type of person that she is. Not because of any parenting that my wife and I could have done, but because those were the gifts that were given to her by her Heavenly Father.
As the deep pain begins to settle into our hearts, we find comfort reflecting on the incredible person that Emilie was, and how many lives she was able to touch in her short time here on earth.
Emilie was bright, creative, and very loving. Emilie was always willing to try new things — other than food. She loved to use her talents to touch the lives of everyone she came into contact with. She was an exceptional artist, and she always carried around her markers and pencils so that she never missed an opportunity to draw a picture or make a card for those around her.
I can’t count the number of times Emilie noticed someone feeling sad or frustrated, and would rush to find a piece of paper to draw them a picture, or to write them an encouraging note.
Let it [be] something that inspires us to be better, to be more compassionate and humble people. Let us please keep the sentiments of love that we feel for our families, and the compassion that we feel for others — even complete strangers — and keep them with us at all times, not just in times of sorrow and tragedy. And may we do this so that we can better all of our communities, and all of our cities and all our states, so we can make everyone, everywhere in this country feel safe.
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