[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 76 (Wednesday, May 8, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Page S2735]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



          Remembering Ellis ``Reed'' Parlier and Riley Howell

  Mr. TILLIS. Mr. President, I come here with a heavy heart.
  On April 30, at 4:40 p.m., a shooting occurred in the Kennedy 
Building on the campus of the University of North Carolina at 
Charlotte. It is a college campus. It is only about 15 minutes from my 
house. The shooting occurred on the last day of classes. When a lot of 
family members and friends were thinking about graduation and thinking 
about what they were going to do over the summer, their lives were 
shattered. I am here to celebrate the lives of two of the victims.
  Before I do that, I thank all of the first responders and the people 
on campus who did an extraordinary job. The first among them would be 
Chancellor Dubois, and there are so many more first responders.
  What makes this particularly difficult for me is the loss of life of 
two young men--one who was 19, Ellis ``Reed'' Parlier, and Riley 
Howell, who was 21 years old. These kids were in school.
  One, Ellis, enrolled in 2017. He loved video games. He wanted to be a 
video game developer. He was a volunteer. He actually tutored middle 
schoolers on computer programming. His professor described him as 
independent and motivated.
  Another young man, Riley, who has an extraordinary story within this 
horrible act, enrolled in UNC Charlotte in 2018. He had gone to A-B 
Tech before that. He was in environmental studies. He loved the 
outdoors. He loved Star Wars. He loved pizza and playing soccer. He was 
just a normal kid who was going to college. He was also enrolled in the 
ROTC at UNC Charlotte. What makes his story extraordinary are the 
accounts from police officers. If you understand the Kennedy Building, 
there are a lot of people around and a lot of classrooms. There are a 
lot of potential victims. This young man actually charged the gunman. 
Although he lost his own life, most police credit him with saving the 
lives of so many more.
  So, on this sad day that we will never forget--the day of April 30--I 
come before this body to let them know and their families know that we 
are praying for them.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Oklahoma.