Football Coach, AD Killed in Florida School Shooting
An assistant football coach, who is being called a hero, was killed during the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla.
Aaron Feis was one of the 17 people killed after a former student opened fire at the school on Wednesday.
Head football coach Willis May told the Sun-Sentinel that Feis, who was also a security guard at the school, died Thursday morning.
The school's athletic director Chris Hixon also died in the attack.
"We had an athletic director, a campus monitor who responded immediately when there was signs of trouble in the school," Broward County Superintendent of Schools Robert W. Runcie said Thursday. "Unfortunately those two heroes gave their lives for our kids and probably helped prevent this from being a worse tragedy than it is today."
“Big ol’ teddy bear,” May said of Feis. “Hardcore – he coached hard. Real good line. He did a great job with the [offensive] line. He took pride with working with those guys. Loyalty – I trusted him. He had my back. He worked hard. Just a good man. Loved his family. Loved his brother – just an excellent family man.”
The school's Twitter account said that Feis shielded students from the shooter when he was shot.
One of the student victims, Alyssa Alhadeff, played soccer for a local youth club.
Among the victims of the shooting was also cross-country coach Scott Biegel, who was a social studies teacher at the school. He died protecting a group of students.
The shooter, identified as 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz, was booked on Thursday morning and faces charges of premeditated murder.
Feis played football for Douglas and graduated from the school in 1999. According to his bio, he leaves behind a wife and a daughter.
