Daughter of firefighter killed in shooting wears father's jacket to graduation

The daughter of a California firefighter who was killed days before her high school graduation wore his jacket as she tearfully received her diploma in a ceremony attended by hundreds of fellow firefighters in a show of support.

Joslyn Carlon, a student at Saugus High School in Santa Clarita, attended her graduation ceremony on Thursday. Two days earlier, her father Tory Carlon was killed in a shooting at Los Angeles County Fire Department Station 81. The 44-year-old firefighter specialist was a 20-year veteran of the department.

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Joslyn Carlon is pictured during the Saugus High School graduation ceremony in Santa Clarita, California, on June 4, 2021. (Photo credit: William S. Hart Union High School District)

Hundreds of firefighters from across the state attended the graduation ceremony dressed in all black. Colleagues of Joslyn Carlon’s late father stood at attention as the family arrived for the ceremony at the College of the Canyons.

The crowd could be heard cheering loudly as she received her diploma, wearing her father’s fire turnout coat draped over her shoulders. A close friend of his also escorted her across the stage.

The shooting was reported at the station Tuesday morning in Agua Dulce. Tory Carlon was shot and the station’s 54-year-old fire captain was critically injured but expected to survive. 

The shooter was later identified as a colleague. The gunman burned his home to the ground and was later found dead at the home in Acton, according to FOX 11 Los Angeles.

Los Angeles County Fire Chief Daryl Osby remembered Tory Carlon as "a brave, committed, loyal member of the fire department." A community vigil was also held this week in his memory.