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Stockton Marks 37 Years Since Cleveland Elementary Shooting With Tree Dedication

The ceremony focused on honoring five refugee children whose deaths still drive local advocacy.

Overview

  • Supporters gathered at Stockton's Oak Park for a memorial led by Cleveland School Remembers, a BRADY chapter.
  • Five October Glory maple trees were planted, each dedicated to a child killed in the 1989 schoolyard shooting.
  • The five children were refugees, mostly Southeast Asian, a fact survivors say deepens the community’s loss.
  • The event featured the Instrument of Hope, a trumpet crafted from bullet casings in a quantity equal to those used in the Parkland school shooting.
  • Speakers stressed enduring grief and a commitment to protecting the next generation, as KCRA framed the 1989 attack as pivotal in ongoing U.S. gun-policy debates.