West Point posthumously admits Florida shooting victim Peter Wang to Class of 2025
A freshman student who was killed helping his classmates escape gunfire at a Parkland, Florida, high school last week was posthumously accepted into West Point, fulfilling one of his life-long dreams.
Peter Wang, 15, was reportedly holding the door to his study hall open to help dozens of his fellow classmates escape on Feb. 14 before he was shot multiple times and killed by gunman Nikolas Cruz.
The young victim was wearing his U.S. Army Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps (JROTC) uniform when he died.
These are the victims of the Florida shooting:
"He died a gentleman holding the door for other students," Wang's friend, Kelsey, told CNN. "And knowing he's gone is going to haunt me forever."
In response to Wang's heroic actions, the U.S. Military Academy at West Point posthumously accepted the Marjory Stoneman Douglas student into its class of 2025.
"One of USMA's priorities is to develop leaders of character who are committed to the values of Duty, Honor & Country," the institution wrote on Twitter. "Peter Wang's actions on February 14 are an example of those principles & the academy honors his dream of being a West Point cadet with a 2025 letter of acceptance."
One of USMA's priorities is to develop leaders of character who are committed to the values of Duty, Honor & Country. Peter Wang's actions on February 14 are an example of those principles & the academy honors his dream of being a West Point cadet with a 2025 letter of acceptance pic.twitter.com/fycvJBhte8
— U.S. Military Academy at West Point (@WestPoint_USMA) February 20, 2018
Wang's incredible self-sacrifice also spurred an official White House petition to bury him with full military honors.
As of Wednesday afternoon, the petition had already soared past its goal, attaining 114,590 signatures out of the 100,000 it needed to get a response from the White House.
