MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The mother of a 10-year-old girl killed during a mass shooting at a Catholic church in Minneapolis remembered her Sunday as a fierce, curious and funny child who “didn’t water herself down.”
Friends, family and others gathered in an outdoor amphitheater by a lake to celebrate Harper Moyski’s life. Speakers also called for people to dedicate themselves to building a less violent American society.
Harper and another student at Annunciation Catholic School, 8-year-old Fletcher Merkel, were killed and 21 others were injured in the Aug. 27 shooting. Authorities said a 23-year-old former student, Robin Westman, was armed with a rifle, pistol and shotgun and fired more than a hundred rounds through the church’s windows during a Mass. Westman was found dead of what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot.
Harper’s mother, Jackie Flavin, told the mourners that their support had lifted the family when it felt as if it had been dropped at the bottom of an ocean “where it’s pitch black and the pressure is crushing.” She said Harper, who loved dogs and hoped to be a veterinarian, taught them “how to be a light in the dark.”
“She had her own point of view, her own sense of style, her own way of being. She didn’t wait for permission. She didn’t water herself down,” Flavin said. “And she really taught us to show up exactly as you are.”
Flavin also called Harper “extra in the very best way.”
“Harper didn’t do anything halfway,” she said. “Always choosing the premium versions, always going for the extra scoop.”
The event in Minneapolis came only four days after the fatal shooting of conservative activist and leader Charlie Kirk as he spoke at Utah Valley University. During the celebration of Harper’s life, speakers expressed frustration and anger that gun violence — particularly shootings that kill schoolchildren — hasn’t stopped.
Another extended family member, Rabbi Jason Rodich, urged people to avoid the acrimony of social media and “the scorched earth of these times.”
“Turn just a little to the warm soul beside you,” he said. “Do it for Harper. Do it for you.”
