美国国家公共电台 NPR He Survived A Tornado, Then His Dad Was Killed In Dayton: 'I Can't Rebuild A Father'（在线收听）

SACHA PFEIFFER, HOST:

Funerals and memorial services are happening today across Dayton, Ohio, to remember the nine people killed in a mass shooting there last weekend. For some, the shooting is the second devastating act to happen in recent months. NPR's Bobby Allyn has one family's story.

BOBBY ALLYN, BYLINE: Dion Green is a soft-spoken guy who works at a men's homeless shelter helping the less fortunate. Green's dad, Derrick Fudge, was a contractor and Salvation Army bell ringer. Because of that, Green says everybody in the Dayton area knew his dad.

DION GREEN: All my friends, family, would say, I see your dad at the Salvation Army, said, at Kroger’s. Like, I seen your dad ringing a bell. Just, he’s going to be missed because a lot of people ain't going to see his face this year.

ALLYN: That's because Fudge was among the nine people shot and killed in front of a bar in downtown Dayton. At the time of the shooting spree, Fudge was standing in front of Green. When Green realized his dad was shot, this is what he said.

GREEN: I just wanted to tell him I loved him a thousand times over and over, over until he stopped hearing it.

ALLYN: It's the second devastating life event for Green in the past three months. In late May, a tornado ripped up his roof, windows, yard and fence. He says he filed a claim with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, but it was denied. Still, the property damage is secondary in his mind right now.

GREEN: This is something that I can rebuild from. A house can be rebuilt. You can't rebuild a father.

ALLYN: For 16 years, Green has been with Donita Cosey. They're now engaged. They have a 10-year-old daughter. For Cosey, processing what happened means remembering the good that came before the nightmare last weekend.

DONITA COSEY: Just the moments in the bar. The dancing, the having a good time. The protecting me.

ALLYN: Protecting her, Cosey says, because she thinks there was a reason why her father-in-law stood firm in front of her and Green.

COSEY: God thought maybe it would be better to take Derrick's life and leave our daughter with both parents because it could have turned out she could have been without both parents and a grandfather.

ALLYN: Green is focused on what a great dad and later friend Fudge was. Growing up, Green says, his dad had a lot of strict rules but their bond changed with time.

GREEN: As he got older, as I got older, he became one of my best friends. Like, we just hung out.

ALLYN: Fudge's funeral is today. As Green works on healing, he says the Oregon District - the popular strip and the site of the shooting - is a place he needs to stay away from.

GREEN: Never going back there. I just don't want to be on the street that took my father.

ALLYN: The city of Dayton is partnering with the Red Cross to offer counseling services to those affected by the shooting.

Bobby Allyn, NPR News, Dayton.

(SOUNDBITE OF THIEVERY CORPORATION SONG, “TAKE MY SOUL”)