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" carried out by a 23-year-old former student at the school. "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." Jesse Merkel said his son loved his family, friends, fishing, cooking "and any sport that he was allowed to play." "While the hole in our hear

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