West Point Posthumously Admits Florida School Shooting Victim
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- U.S. Military Academy officials say they have posthumously offered admission to a 15-year-old last seen holding open a door for other students during last week's school shooting in Florida.
West Point issued a certificate of appointment to Peter Wang. Officials said Tuesday that the Class of 2025 admission offer was an appropriate honor for Wang, a "brave young man'' whose lifetime goal was to attend the storied academy.
One of USMA's priorities is to develop leaders of character who are committed to the values of Duty, Honor & Country. Peter Wang's actions on February 14 are an example of those principles & the academy honors his dream of being a West Point cadet with a 2025 letter of acceptance pic.twitter.com/fycvJBhte8
— U.S. Military Academy at West Point (@WestPoint_USMA) February 20, 2018
Wang died wearing his gray ROTC shirt and was last seen holding a door open for other students, his cousins have said. His funeral was held Tuesday.
The academy said in a statement that it wants to "pass on our deepest condolences to the Wang family and the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School community."
West Point rarely offers posthumous admissions. Potential candidates' actions must exemplify the academy's tenets of duty, honor and country.
Wang was one of three freshmen members of the school's Junior ROTC program who were killed.
(© Copyright 2018 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)