My 14-Year-Old Daughter Was A School Massacre Victim | MY EXTRAORDINARY FAMILY

WHEN "soccer mom" Lori dropped her daughter Alyssa off at school on Valentine's Day 2018, she could never have imagined it would be for the last time. At 14 years old, Alyssa was an "all-American girl" with a "zest for life" who was popular with her friends at school and a gifted athlete, captaining her soccer team. At home, Alyssa and her family - mom Lori, dad Ilan and brothers Robbie and Coby - "lived a very normal life" having moved to Parkland, Florida. As Lori told Truly: "I never had any concerns sending my kids to school, I always felt that they were safe." But when she received a text message on the afternoon of February 14th, 2018 telling her that there had been "shots fired" at Alyssa's school, Lori remembers an overwhelming sense that "something [was] drastically wrong." She drove through traffic to find "police officers everywhere" and Lori soon learned from another student that Alyssa had been "injured" in the school shooting. She recalls "just hoping that Alyssa would still be alive" - but when the FBI eventually called Lori and Ilan into a room, it was to give them "the worst news that a parent could ever receive." A former student had broken into the school, smashing a window to the classroom that Alyssa was in at the time - and, although Alyssa tried to hide under a desk, she "didn't have a chance." She was one of 17 victims who lost their lives at the school that day. As the local community came together in grief, Alyssa's family were arranging her funeral - a situation that Lori described as "one of the most horrific things one could ever go through." Visibly emotional, she told Truly: "It's just hard because [Alyssa] should still be here." This would soon become the motivation for Lori to "take action", establishing a national non-profit organisation called 'Make Our Schools Safe' (MOSS) which has fundraised almost a million dollars for school safety projects and "passed 'Alyssa's Law' in 10 states" requiring schools to install panic buttons that students can use to raise the alarm in an emergency. Through student-led clubs, Lori's organisation also empowers young people to foster a "culture of safety" in their schools and Lori has become a mentor to many - including intern, Nana, who has been "so inspired by Lori and her family's courage" that she hopes to "follow in her footsteps." With Nana's generation joining Lori's efforts, Alyssa's legacy appears to be in safe hands - as Lori concludes, "her memory will always be forever." Follow Lori & MOSS: https://makeourschoolssafe.org https://www.facebook.com/MakeOurSchoolsSafe17 https://www.instagram.com/makeourschoolssafe https://www.instagram.com/lorialhadeff8/ https://www.tiktok.com/@makeourschoolssafe_ https://x.com/lorialhadeff https://www.youtube.com/@makeourschoolssafe