The father of one of the two students killed in the Annunciation Catholic School mass shooting urged parents to "give your kids an extra hug" as he remembered his son, Fletcher Merkel.

"Yesterday, a coward decided to take our 8-year-old son, Fletcher, away from us," Jesse Merkel said during remarks outside the school on Thursday, publicly identifying his son as one of the victims killed in the "senseless act of violence." "Because of their actions, we will never be allowed to hold him, talk to him, play with him, and watch him grow into the wonderful young man he was on the path to becoming."

Fletcher Merkel, 8, was one of two students killed in the Annunciation Catholic School mass shooting in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Merkel Family

Jesse Merkel said his son loved his family, frien

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