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Stoneman Douglas Football Coach Aaron Feis Died A Hero

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PARKLAND (CBSMiami) - In a time of peril and tragedy, an amazing human being emerged.

As the horrific school shooting transpired at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, assistant football coach and security guard Aaron Feis used his own body to shield students from incoming bullets. According to eye witnesses, he was literally jumping in front of students to protect them from the shooter.

Hours after the tragedy, Feis passed away. He died a hero.

As written by Manny Navarro of the Miami Herald in a touching tribute to Feis, he was well liked at MSD and took his role in security quite seriously:

In addition to coaching football, Feis worked as a security guard at the school for at least eight years and took his role protecting students very seriously, said Andrew Hofmann, a former student at the school who recently coached the swimming and water polo teams.

"He's very well dedicated to the safety of the school during the daytime," Hofmann said early in the evening, before Israel made his announcement.

Hofmann described the coach as "a quiet person" with a good sense of humor. "When there's a funny joke, he is always laughing for sure," he said.

Navarro notes that Feis graduated from MSD in 1999 and worked for the school for his entire coaching career.

The story of Coach Aaron Feis will live on, as will the students he saved on February 14th.

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