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Harper and another student at Annunciation Catholic School,
8-year-old Fletcher Merkel, were killed and 21 others were
injured in the Aug. 27 shooting. Authorities said a 23-year-old
former student, Robin Westman, was armed with a rifle, pistol
and shotgun and fired more than a hundred rounds through the
church's windows during a Mass. Westman was found dead of what
appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot.
Harper's mother, Jackie Flavin, told the mourners that their
support had lifted the family when it felt as if it had been
dropped at the bottom of an ocean “where it's pitch black and
the pressure is crushing.” She said Harper, who loved dogs and
hoped to be a veterinarian, taught them “how to be a light in
the dark.”
“She had her own point of view, her own sense of style, her own
way of being. She didn't wait for permission. She didn't water
herself down," Flavin said. “And she really taught us to show up
exactly as you are.”
Flavin also called Harper “extra in the very best way.”
“Harper didn't do anything halfway,” she said. “Always choosing
the premium versions, always going for the extra scoop.”
The event in Minneapolis came only four days after the fatal
shooting of conservative activist and leader Charlie Kirk as he
spoke at Utah Valley University. During the celebration of
Harper's life, speakers expressed frustration and anger that gun
violence — particularly shootings that kill schoolchildren —
hasn't stopped.
Another extended family member, Rabbi Jason Rodich, urged people
to avoid the acrimony of social media and “the scorched earth of
these times.”
“Turn just a little to the warm soul beside you,” he said. "Do
it for Harper. Do it for you."
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