The 9-year-old daughter of Dodgers scout John Green was one of six people killed in the Saturday shooting in Tucson, Ariz., that also took the life of a federal judge and critically wounded Arizona representative Gabrielle Giffords.
Christina Taylor Green attended the meet-and-greet for the politician at a local market after being elected to her elementary school student council.
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“She was a good speaker. I could have easily seen her as a politician,” her father told the Arizona Daily Star. He is the Dodgers’ East Coast supervisor of amateur scouting.
Christina Taylor Green was the granddaughter of longtime manager Dallas Green, who led the Phillies to a World Series title in 1980.
“She kept up with everyone, she was a strong girl, a very good athlete and a strong swimmer,” her mother, Roxanna Green, told the Daily Star. “She was interested in everything. She got a guitar for Christmas, so her next thing was learning to play guitar.”
Dallas Green issued a statement through the Phillies on Sunday.
“This is such a tough time for Sylvia and I and for John and Roxanna and little Dallas,” Green said in the statement. “We thank everybody from the bottom of our hearts for their friendship, thoughts and prayers, especially the Phillies and our extended family in baseball. Somehow we will get through this, but right now our little nine-year-old granddaughter is not here and we’re having a hard time with that.”
On Monday, at their minicamp in Brandenton, Fla., members of the Pittsburgh Pirates observed a moment of silence for the shooting victims. John Green worked as the Pirates’ farm director in 2000-01 and their West Coast scouting supervisor in ’08.
Dodgers owner Frank McCourt issued the following statement early Sunday morning:
“We lost a member of the Dodgers family today. The entire Dodgers organization is mourning the death of John’s daughter Christina, and will do everything we can to support John, his wife, Roxanna, and their son, Dallas, in the aftermath of this senseless tragedy. I spoke with John earlier today and expressed condolences on behalf of the entire Dodgers organization.”
Greg Segalini, identified as the girl’s uncle, told the Arizona Republic that Christina-Taylor, who was taken to the event by a neighbor, was shot once in the chest and died at a local hospital. The neighbor was shot four times and was hospitalized after undergoing surgery.
Christina Taylor was born on Sept. 11, 2001, and was one of 50 9/11 babies (one from each state) included in the “Faces of Hope” book, written by Christine Naman. She was the only girl on her Little League team. The Phillies also released a statement Sunday morning in regard to the tragedy.
“The Phillies organization expresses our heartfelt condolences to Dallas and Sylvia and the entire Green family on the senseless, tragic loss of Christina’s life. She was a talented young girl with a bright, promising future. Her untimely death weighs heavily on our hearts. Our thoughts and prayers are with all the families affected by yesterday’s horrific shooting.”
From dodgers.com