Dunblane Family’s Emotional Visit To Parkland: LBC’s Special Report

6 April 2018, 00:01

LBC has travelled to Florida with the family of a Dunblane shooting victim to support the relatives and friends of those killed in the Parkland high school tragedy.

Alison Crozier and her son Jack lost their five-year-old daughter and sister Emma in the 1996 Scottish primary school massacre, which saw 16 children and their teacher killed.

While the tragedy led to the UK introducing some of the strictest gun controls in the world, mass school shootings have become an all-too familiar pattern in the United States.

Twenty-two years on from the Dunblane massacre, America was rocked by its deadliest school shooting in the country’s history.

Seventeen people were killed at Majory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida on 14th February 2018.

Students at the school have since demanded tougher gun laws.

During Alison and Jack’s trip with LBC reporter Connor Gillies, they met Gary Dworet and Vivien D'Addario, the uncle and aunt of 17-year-old victim Nicholas Dworet.

Nicholas was killed at the US school just a month before he was due to celebrate his 18th birthday.

Jack told LBC: "The most important thing is that something positive comes out of something that is so terrible.

"Something positive happened after Dunblane. We changed everything and that's what we hope can happen here as well."

He urged campaigners to speak with one voice to oppose the powerful gun lobby group, the National Rifle Association of America (NRA).

"In the UK we had one voice, it was the Snowdrop Campaign, it was the gun control network," Jack said.

"This one voice, and this is what we want and we're not going to stop until we've got to this end point."

On the loss of her daughter, Alison told the family: "It's always there."

"We are 22 years down the line. There's always this hole in your life. The first year is just a blur. You do it day-by-day."

Alison and Jack have received the support from Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon.

She caught up with the pair during their busy trip via FaceTime.

"It must have been really tough for you, given what you've been through, but also to hear what they've been through more recently,” Ms Sturgeon said.

"You get that sense they're making history right now.

"Parkland will be remembered, hopefully, for what it led to in terms of gun law reform, rather than the horror that happened."

Students and campaigners Nikhita Nookola and Christy Ma both lost friends in February's shooting.

Nikhita praised Alison and Jack for the work they have both put in since the massacre 22 years ago.

She said: "It's so incredible that you guys came all the way from Scotland to support us.

"You're just a living example of what we can do and how people have the power in government."

Watch LBC Presents Echoes Of Dunblane: Journey To Parkland in full below: