Vigil To Honor Scott Beigel To Take Place Wednesday

The vigil honoring Long Island native Scott Beigel, a teacher at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School who died protecting students, will take place on Wednesday afternoon.

The vigil was originally scheduled for March 7 but was postponed due to weather.

Beigel was born and raised in Dix Hills. His parents Michael Schulman and Linda Beigel-Schulman, who still live in Dix Hills, will attend the vigil, which will be held on the Veterans Plaza in front of Huntington Town Hall, located at 100 Main St., at 4:30 p.m.

Beigel was a geography teacher and the school's cross country coach. He was struck by a bullet as he shut a classroom door behind him. He had unlocked his classroom briefly to let more students take shelter, the Miami Herald reported.

Kelsey Friend, a student in Beigel's class, recalled her teacher's heroic actions to Good Morning America:

"When he opened the door, he had to re-lock it so we could stay safe, but he didn't get the chance to," Friend said through tears. "And I'm so thankful that he was there to help everybody who did live in that classroom because he was in the doorway and the door was still open, and the shooter probably didn't know we were in there because Mr. Beigel was laying on the floor."

Friend also told CNN that "Mr. Beigel was my hero and he still will forever be my hero."

Related:

• Florida Teacher From Dix Hills Remembered At Funeral
• Hero Teacher Killed In Florida Mass Shooting Grew Up On LI

The vigil takes place the same day as the National School Walkout, which is led by students across the country who are protesting gun violence and Congress's inaction on passing gun control legislation.

All members of the community are invited to attend. Supervisor Chad Lupinacci met earlier this week with superintendents from school districts in the Town of Huntington to discuss school safety measures in light of the Parkland, Florida mass shooting that killed 17 people, including Beigel.

Images via Town of Huntington