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Helena Ramsay was one of the 17 victims of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting Feb. 14. Helena had just turned 17. A quiet, kind, smart, beautiful girl, as described by family and friends, she was also one of the heroes that day.
Nickolas Cruz, who may have held extremist views, pulled up in an Uber to his former high school, got out, went inside, roamed the halls and armed with an automatic weapon, opened fire, according to Broward County Sheriffs Department timeline.
Here’s what people who love Helena have been sharing:
1. During the Shooting, Helena Shielded A Friend Saving Their Life, But Losing Hers
Helena’s cousin Fena Cooper shared a post from a friend of Helena’s who told the world that his friend was a hero. “…on the day of the shooting, she quickly shielded her best friend. Turned 17 on January 19th, she bravely chose to save someone else’s life than hers…”
Cooper wrote, “To know that she was selfless even unto death is something to be celebrated. She made sure her classmates were OK, even through the scariest time of their lives. The amount of faces that showed up to honor you is testament alone to who you were. May you always be remembered as the HERO you were Helena. I’m so proud of you.”
2. Helena’s Family Was Still Waiting For News About Her Fate Until Late Wednesday Night
The shooting took place Wednesday Feb. 14 at around 2:20 in the afternoon. For many hours, hundreds, indeed thousands of family and friends awaited word about their loved one; safe or injured, alive or dead. Helena’s family posted on Facebook at around 11 p.m. that night that they’d still not heard. In fact, some had shared a post about a blood drive in hopes that the worst case was that Helena was perhaps injured. Tragically, the sweet, quiet kind girl whose bravery during the horror has been recounted here, did not survive.
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Jen Hillmon/FacebookA candlelight vigil was held for Helena
3. Helena’s Large & Loving Family, Including Many Cousins, Posted Tributes & Remembrances On Social Media
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Fena cooper/FacebookFamily and close friends of Helena Ramsay hold a candlelight vigil for the teen gunned down in the Parkland, Florida school shooting.
Helena’s family members have been sharing memories, photographs, stories and updates with the world on social media. And the family held a candlelight vigil for Helena Thursday night. Cooper wrote she was moved by the number of people that came to honor her cousin. “To see the amount of lives she touched with her smile and her caring and comforting demeanor was heart warming.”
People gather to grieve the death of 17-year-old Helena Ramsay, a Stoneman Douglas High School shooting victim.
This heartbreaking share from Cooper is at once touching and tragic, and a poignant and moving tribute. One can feel the overwhelming pain of their loss.
“Valentine’s Day will never look the same for my family. My sweet cousin Helena Ramsay was one of the many lives senselessly taken by the monster who shot up Stoneman Douglas high school yesterday,” Cooper wrote asking people to please refrain from posting explicit photos and videos on social media, including and especially Snap Chat.
“If you understood the pain that comes with a loss or heard the overwhelming screams and cries coming from parents and their families,” Cooper wrote, “you would not share it at all. Helena, we miss you dearly and are so incredibly sorry that your life was cut short. You didn’t deserve this. We love you so much and will miss you greatly.”
4. Family Members Describe Helena as Beautiful, Smart, Kind-Hearted & Thoughtful
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Just turned 17, Helena Ramsay had her whole life ahead of her until that life was taken on Valentin’s Day in a hail of bullets.
“My family lost an absolutely beautiful member today, due to a senseless school shooting,” wrote Curtis Page Jr. on his Facebook page “…she was deeply loved and loved others even more so. Though she was somewhat reserved, she had a relentless motivation towards her academic studies, and her soft warm demeanor brought the best out in all who knew her. She was so brilliant and witty, and I’m still wrestling with the idea that she is actually gone. She would have started college next year.”
5. Helena Turned 17 on January 19, Less Than a Month Before She Was Gunned Down
Fena Cooper/FacebookA photo collage of Helena Ramsay shows her from infancy to her teen years.
These collages provide a glimpse into the life of a girl whose promised future was taken away in a hail of bullets.
Helena, whose middle name was Freja, born on a winter day in Florida 17 years ago is survived by Anne Ramsay, Ellis Ramsay, and Vincent Ramsay, who family said, “lost his only daughter on his birthday.”
Her brother Ellis posted this photo of the two as children to his Facebook account.
Ellis Ramsay lost his sister Helena to unspeakable violence.