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Parents of Rachel King leaning on faith after losing daughter in tragic shooting

Parents of killed Philadelphia teacher using faith to move forward after tragic death
Parents of killed Philadelphia teacher using faith to move forward after tragic death 02:12

CHELTENHAM TOWNSHIP, Pa. (CBS) -- Rachel King's parents say they are taking it day-by-day. They say the death of their daughter feels like a bad dream and the moment they found out they felt like their world stopped.

"I want to do God's will and he calls us to forgive," Allen King, Rachel's father, said. 

Powerful words from Allen and Carol King.

Their daughter, Rachel, was shot and killed in a Dunkin drive-thru in Cheltenham after a months-long plot. They say their faith is what's helping them find strength in this difficult time.

"I would have lost my mind two weeks ago, it's only the power of the living God keeping me," Allen King said. 

Rachel King's son was in the back seat at the time of the shooting, and her parents say he is getting support for the trauma.

"He said, 'My mommy didn't deserve to die like that,'" Carol King said. 

Investigators say they found the two people responsible for what they call an apparent murder for hire.

Officials provide update on shooting that killed Philadelphia teacher 24:12

"I gasped when I saw those faces on the screen during the press conference. I don't know why I gasped, but here are the people, they are real and they did a horrific terrible thing," Carol King said. "At the end of the day, they will have to answer for it."

Rachel King was a teacher at Grover Cleveland Elementary School in the Tioga section of Philadelphia. Her parents say she was passionate, funny, very caring and loved R&B music.

"She was a wonderful teacher," Carol King said. 

Rachel King's parents say they are not looking back and not holding on to anger.

"People have asked: 'If you knew the how, the why the when, how important is that to you?'" Allen King said. "I've told them, 'It really isn't important because it doesn't change the outcome.'"

The family says they are so grateful for the endless amount of support from schools, churches, investigators and the entire community.

They say they hope to help others grieving and healing from gun violence.

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