The parents of one of the children who died during the Parkland shooting had a live interview that was interrupted by a broadcast of the Kansas City Chiefs parade.
Manuel and Patricia Oliver were supposed to speak on CNN to mark the sixth anniversary of their son Joaquin's death, but in a stunning live TV moment they instead saw frantic scenes of the shooting at the Super Bowl celebration.
One showed police officers in the prominent Missouri city taking on an armed man moments earlier, seconds after the team left the stage.
The couple, whose son was murdered by then-19-year-old Nikolas Cruz as he lay on the ground that day in 2018, finally spoke about the incident and how it serves as evidence of a gun epidemic.
When asked about the recent mass shooting that left at least one dead and 29 injured, a visibly frustrated Manuel simply said he was “not surprised.”
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Manuel and Patricia Oliver were supposed to speak on CNN to mark the sixth anniversary of their son Joaquin's death, but in a stunning live TV moment, they instead saw scenes from the shootings at the Super Bowl celebration.
As they spoke, footage from Missouri showed police officers moments earlier tackling two gunmen after they opened fire seconds after the Super Bowl-winning team took the stage outside Union Station
A stunning live TV moment that shows the reality of today's America: Parkland victim Joaquin Oliver's parents were on set to talk @CNN about her gun reform work…her interview was derailed by breaking news about a shooting in Kansas City.
“Not surprised at all,” says the father. pic.twitter.com/5ivAU23IGG
— Elizabeth Wagmeister (@EWagmeister) February 14, 2024
“You can't help but notice what today is,” CNN News Central's Brianna Keilar began, as B-roll of the parade at Union Station played in the background.
“The Sixth Anniversary of the Parkland School Shooting.”
“And as we look at this scene outside of Kansas City,” she continued, “this is the unfortunate reality.”
“While we wait for so many details, this is the reality of life in America; These shootings, that's what you see.'
She then introduced the couple, who were scheduled to speak about a new activism campaign they had launched earlier in the day along with five other families affected by gun violence.
“We had a very different interview that we wanted to do here,” Keilar admits in the clip — referencing her efforts on Capitol Hill.
'[You’re] “I'm trying to bring awareness and change, and that's what you see here when you visited Washington,” Keilar said, as B-roll from moments earlier showed one of three suspected gunmen being attacked as he tried to escape.
“What’s going through your mind as you watch this?”
“You can't help but notice what today is,” CNN News Central's Brianna Keilar began, as B-roll of the parade at Union Station played in the background.
She then introduced the couple, who were scheduled to speak about a new activism campaign they had launched earlier in the day along with five other families affected by gun violence.
![“We had a very different interview that we wanted to do here,” Keilar admits in the clip — referencing her efforts on Capitol Hill. '[You're] “I'm trying to bring awareness and change, and that's what you see here when you visited Washington,” Keilar said. “What’s going through your mind as you watch this?”](https://spamchronicles.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/1707965921_212_Parents-of-Parkland-victim-end-up-talking-about-shooting-at.jpg "Parents of Parkland victim end up talking about shooting at Kansas City Chiefs parade INSTEAD of anniversary of son's death: 'Not surprised at all' 7")
“We had a very different interview that we wanted to do here,” Keilar admits in the clip — referencing her efforts on Capitol Hill. '[You’re] “I'm trying to bring awareness and change, and that's what you see here when you visited Washington,” Keilar said. “What’s going through your mind as you watch this?”
“Not surprised at all,” Manuel replied as B-roll from moments earlier showed one of three suspected shooters being attacked as he tried to flee the scene. To date, there have been three arrests, with an assault rifle seized at at least one arrest location
17-year-old Joaquin Oliver was killed in the 2018 Parkland school shooting. He was murdered as he lay wounded on the ground. The fatal bullet pierced the hand he raised as the 19-year-old killer aimed his AR-15 rifle-style semi-automatic rifle
“Not surprised at all,” Manuel replied, before bringing up his and his wife’s efforts to raise awareness and change on a national level.
“It's like we're literally pausing these videos because there's another mass shooting happening,” he continued.
“And we could interrupt that, because there is.” [always] there will be another one. So it never ends.'
The distraught parent became increasingly animated and lamented the hopelessness of the situation.
“And yes, we will investigate, but so far I can tell you two things: there is a gun and there are people who have been shot.” So far I can say that without further investigation.
“A common element – a gun and someone shooting innocent people,” he continued. “That should be enough to be offended and start working on a solution.”
Keilar's co-host Boris Sanchez then asked the couple – whose recent activism campaign used AI technology to recreate the voices of murdered students – how it felt to see such scenes six years after the murder of their then 17-year-old son.
“They were arrested on Capitol Hill,” Sanchez quoted, reiterating the couple’s commitment to the issue.
“But even if you launch this new campaign to draw attention to the problem, it doesn’t seem like much will change,” he continued.
Reporters from local station Channel 41 were also interrupted by Wednesday afternoon's shooting and looked around in confusion after shots were fired in the Missouri city
Several people were seen being wheeled away on a stretcher. Reports suggest up to ten people may have been injured in the chaotic scenes
An injured fan receives help and is carried away from the scene
A woman with a large cut on her face was seen being carried away from the scene on a stretcher
The shooting prompted a rapid evacuation of the area, which moments earlier had been packed with parade-goers
In the photo, a man wearing a red hoodie was arrested. However, it is unclear whether he was one of those involved in the shooting
“Isn’t that frustrating?”
Manuel admitted:[i]“This is it” – before reminding Sanchez that a father’s duties and responsibilities to his offspring do not end with death.
“I’m a father,” he told the moderator. “As a father, frustration is not an option.” I have to keep doing things a father would do. And that’s exactly what I do.”
He added: “This has to end – not because of me or Patricia. But because millions of young people in America want this to change.”
The pair went on to talk about their newly launched activism initiative – using artificial intelligence to generate sympathy among lawmakers.
“Using artificial intelligence to take the words of victims who can no longer speak and give them a voice – can you tell us a little about that and what you want to achieve?” asked Keilar.
Patricia responded by laying out the campaign's framework, which she hoped would “send a message to these politicians.”
However, the grieving mother said she didn't want to “recreate” Joaquin just to use his voice to bring about change that she knew he believed in.
The audio clips were created using AI speech generator ElevenLabs, which is at the center of ongoing debates about the impact of using AI in scams, scams and deepfakes.
Patricia and Manny Oliver, whose nonprofit founded the project, said they took this approach out of frustration with lawmakers' inaction
Patricia Oliver said when she heard Joaquin's voice, it felt like her son was still there
Uzi Garcia, who was killed in the 2022 Uvalde school shooting. His voice was used in the AI campaign
Six years ago today, a gunman opened fire at Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, leaving seventeen dead, including the couple's son
PARKLAND SCHOOL SHOOTING VICTIMS: Top row front: Jaime Guttenberg, Nicholas Dworet, Martin Duque, Meadow Pollack, Cara Loughran – Second row front: Alyssa Alhadeff, Luke Hoyer, Joaquin Oliver, Gina Montalto – Third row front: Alaina Petty, Carmen Schentrup, Peter Wang, Alex Schachter – Fourth row LR: Helena Ramsey, Scott Beigel, Aaron Feis, Chris Hixon
Parkland shooter Cruz is serving a life sentence with no chance of parole for the deadliest high school shooting in U.S. history. In 2022, he was officially sentenced to 34 consecutive life sentences, one for each person he murdered and injured during the massacre
The project also used the voice of Uzi Garcia, who was killed in Uvalde in 2022.
In Garcia's AI-generated phone call, his voice can be heard saying, “I am a fourth grader at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas.”
“At least I was when a man came to my school with an AR-15 and killed 18 of my classmates, two teachers and me.”
“You’re not truly dead until the last person who remembers you is gone,” Brett Cross, Uzi’s father, told the Journal.
“No matter how many years I have left, I will continue to introduce him into this world so that he will outlive me.”
Parkland shooter Cruz is serving a life sentence with no chance of parole for the deadliest high school shooting in U.S. history.
In 2022, he was officially sentenced to 34 consecutive life sentences, one for each person he murdered and injured during the massacre.
Three arrests were reportedly made in connection with the latest shooting – with police finding at least one of the suspected shooters had suffered physical injuries.
A new video has since emerged showing shots from an AR gun being fired as the crowd quickly begins to disperse.
As for the latest incident, a new video has since emerged showing what sounds like an AR-style weapon being fired as the crowd quickly begins to disperse
Amidst the terror, a group of heroic men were seen taking down one of the suspected perpetrators. Police have confirmed three arrests. Their investigation is still ongoing
Amidst the terror, a group of heroic men were seen taking down one of the suspected perpetrators.
They dragged the suspected shooter to the ground and then shouted, “We have the gun.” The men held the suspect until police arrived and arrested him.
TMZ reported that 11 children were hospitalized, nine of them with gunshot wounds. An investigation is still ongoing.