An eight-year-old boy killed in the Minnesota school shooting has been named and pictured for the first time.

In a statement on Thursday, the family of Fletcher Merkel asked people to remember the person he was, not how he died.

Jessie Merkel, Fletcher’s father, called gunman Robin Westman a “coward” and blamed him for the fact the family will no longer “hold him, talk to him, play with him and watch him grow into the wonderful young man he was on the path to becoming.”

Fletcher was one of two children murdered in the attack by Westman, who “showered” bullets through the windows of Annunciation Church as schoolchildren attended a morning Mass.

A total of 18 people were injured in the attack. Westman took his own life after carrying out the shooting.

“Fletcher loved his family, friends, fishing, cooking and any sports that he was allowed to play,” his father told NBC. “While the hole in our hearts and lives will never be filled, I hope that in time, our family can find healing.”

Armed with a rifle, shotgun, and pistol, Westman stalked the outside of the church, attached to the adjacent Catholic School.