Second Victim From Stoneman Douglas Marching Band Identified

Second Victim From Stoneman Douglas Marching Band Identified

A second member of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School marching band has been identified as a victim in Wednesday's school shooting.

Feb 15, 2018 by Andy Schamma
Second Victim From Stoneman Douglas Marching Band Identified

UPDATED 2/16/18

A second member of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School marching band has been identified as a victim in Wednesday's school shooting in Parkland, Florida: Alex Schachter, 14, was a freshman baritone player in the marching band. 

Both Schachter and Gina Montalto, a 14-year-old freshman who also competed for the FMBC 5A state champion Eagle Regiment band, were among the 17 people who were killed by the shooter. The suspect has been charged with 17 counts of premeditated murder after attempting to escape in a fleeing crowd of students and being caught nearby by police.

Schachter also played the trombone in the school's orchestra program.

“The improvement I witnessed from him was admirable and inspiring,” Alexander Kaminsky, director of bands, told the Sun Sentinel. “I felt he really had a bright future on the trombone.”

During the shooting, students and teachers locked themselves in classrooms, including the wind symphony class taking place in the Stoneman Douglas band room. Band director Alex Kaminsky shared that the wind symphony students were safely evacuated following the lockdown.

The marching arts community learned of Montalto's passing on Wednesday night through the circulation of a Facebook post by color guard choreographer/designer Andy Mroczek.

If you'd like to contribute directly to the relief and support of the Stoneman Douglas Eagle Regiment band, you can donate via the Florida Federations of Colorguards Circuit website, the circuit in which the school's indoor drumline competes.