Athletic director Chris Hixon died in the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas high school. As a nation watched, his wife Debbi had to find a way to grieve.
The media attends a briefing at the Broward Health North Hospital where victims of a shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School were treated, Febreuary 14, 2018 in Parkland, Florida.
A former student armed with an AR-15 rifle opened fire at a Florida high school, killing at least 17 people, officials said, in a harrowing shooting spree that saw terrified students hiding in closets and under desks as they texted for help. Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel identified the gunman as Nikolas Cruz, 19, a former student at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland who had been expelled for "disciplinary reasons."
/ AFP PHOTO / Michele Eve SANDBERG (Photo credit should read MICHELE EVE SANDBERG/AFP/Getty Images)
As the long, black limo continued up Florida’s Turnpike, Debbi Hixon was in a fog. She had tuned out the cars that had pulled over to make way for the procession and its police motorcade. Debbi would later burn the black dress she was wearing that February day in 2018; she would never want to see it again. But first, she had to bury her husband.
How the heck did this happen?
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