Hero Jewish Teacher Killed As He Shielded Students In Florida School Shooting
Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
By Dave Goldiner February 15, 2018
Scott Beigel died trying to shield his students from the shooting rampage at a Florida high school.
The Jewish social sciences teacher herded some terrified students into a classroom at Stoneman Douglas High School. He was trying to lock the door when suspected gunman Nikolas Cruz opened fire, killing him on the spot.
“Unfortunately, I had to watch him lying there lifeless in the doorway,” Kelsey Friend told a local TV station.
Image by facebook
Friend said Beigel was trying to save her and the other students in the classroom when he was gunned down.
“We were all in the classroom with the door wide open,” Friend said.
She said without Beigel’s actions, the gunman could’ve killed her and others.
“I probably wouldn’t be with my mom … or see my sister again,” Friend said.
Beigel was also a staff member at Camp Starlight, a predominately Jewish summer camp in Starlight, Pennsylvania. In a Facebook post, the camp called him a “beloved friend and hero.”
“Those kids were incredibly lucky to have you, you are a real hero,” Adam Schwartz, a Starlight camper, wrote in a post.
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news this Passover.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give this Passover is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
