CNN anchor Brooke Baldwin visibly choked up after reading a letter from a mother to her daughter — who was killed almost a year ago during the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.
Baldwin struggled at various points Wednesday to get through the full message from Lori Alhadeff, whose daughter Alyssa was just 14 years old when she was killed.
“I want to get through this because these words matters,” Baldwin said, her voice quavering through a number of moments.
“Last Valentine’s Day was the last time I saw you. You wore a black and white dress. Your long dark hair dangled. Your makeup looked just right,” the letter reads. “As I remember you, grief washes over me. But that grief emboldens me to fight for change. I wish I could take all the bullets for you.”
Thursday will mark the one year anniversary of the shooting, which left 17 dead and sparked a national movement aimed at addressing gun violence in schools.
You can read the full letter from Alhadeff here.