Canada grieves along with Taber
Last Updated: Tuesday, May 4, 1999 | 12:12 PM ET
CBC News
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Friends, family, and political leaders gathered in Taber for a moving tribute to 17-year-old Jason Lang killed last week in a shooting at his high school.- RELATED STORIES: Too Close to Home: The Tragedy in Taber
The memorial service for Jason was held in the packed auditorium of the school gymnasium.
Jason's family listened, fighting back tears, as two of his closest friends reminisced about a trip to Mexico and how Jason loved being around children.
Rev. Lang speaks about his son
Jason's father, Rev. Dale Lang, arrived at the memorial in his son's dream car -- a black Camero that Jason had bought only three days before his death.
Rev. Lang told people Jason wasn't perfect. He said his son "was a quiet guy with a lot of love in his heart."
Rev. Lang talked about his son's car and how he had worked for quite a while to save money to buy it.
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"God gave me another very special blessing" he said when his son asked him the day before he died to help him learn to drive a stick shift.
Rev. Lang asked people at the memorial "where do we go from here?"
He said it is so important that his son's death is not a meaningless act of violence. "If Jason had to die, then I believe God is going to bring good out of that."
Rev. Lang said "we can't live in fear." He told students "this is our school." He said "this can not be a place that we are afraid to go into because something evil happened here." Rev.Lang said the students must begin the process of taking back this school from evil and fear.
Rev. Lang walked to the spot where his son died to show that there was nothing to be afraid of. Along with his wife and family he prayed to God "to come and fill this place with Your holy presence."
Rev. Lang asked how such a tragedy could happen in a place like Taber. He said it was a difficult issue to deal with. Rev. Lang said it all comes down to what lies at our heart, at the core of our being.
He said the one thing he knows is that it has to stop.
After the memorial Alberta Premier Ralph Klein said it was a very moving service. "One couldn't help but be impressed by the words of Rev. Lang," Klein said.
Aline Chretien, wife of the prime minister, Reform Leader Preston Manning, and federal Justice Minister Anne McClellan also attended the memorial.
A private funeral for Jason was also held on Monday.
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