Update to this story. He would have been a fine officer.
A petition was filed Wednesday asking the White House to give Riley Howell, a University of North Carolina-Charlotte student and ROTC cadet, a full honors military funeral.
Howell died Tuesday after charging and tackling a gunman who opened fire in a UNC classroom. The suspect killed Howell and another student and wounded four others, police said.
“Riley was an ROTC cadet and would have served his country. Instead, he died saving the lives of his classmates,” the petition said.
Howell was enrolled in his first semester of Army ROTC as a participating student in the Military Science 102 course, Lt. Col. Chunka Smith, who runs the school’s Army ROTC program, said in an email. Howell planned to pursue a life of military service or become a first responder, Smith said.