Petition Seeks Renamed Street for Newtown Teacher

More than 3,000 petitioners are asking Stratford to rename a street to honor a teacher who was among six educators and 20 elementary children who were fatally shot in a Newtown school rampage.

A petition on Change.org asks the Stratford Town Council to change North Parade to Victoria Soto Way.

When shots rang out in the Friday morning rampage, Soto rushed her students into a closet and died trying to shield them from bullets, her cousin James Wiltsie told ABC News.

Stratford was the 27-year-old teacher's home town.

The Connecticut Post reports that the petition is also linked to Facebook.

Chris Barbee, a graduate of Stratford High School where Soto graduated, said backers of a renamed street want to make sure Soto will never be forgotten.

“Honoring Victoria Soto by changing the name of North Parade (the street that runs in front of her alma mater, and mine, Stratford High) to Victoria Soto Way will ensure her actions will never be forgotten,” the petition states. https://www.change.org/petitions/stratford-ct-town-council-change-the-name-of-the-street-north-parade-to-victoria-soto-way-2

Mayor John Harkins did not comment to the Connecticut Post, citing respect for the family.

Members of Soto's high school class of 2003 have started a scholarship fund in her name. They also are composing a book, called "Letters to Vicki."
 

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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