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Bookended by tragedy, a too-short life leaves a void

By the CNN Wire Staff
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Tucson shooting victims remembered
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
  • Christina Green was born on September 11, 2001
  • "Born on a tragic day and taken out on a tragic day," her father says
  • "We got robbed, she got robbed," her mother says
  • A father's memory: "Daddy, it's time to get up"

Follow the latest developments on CNN's "This Just In" blog. Share your accounts, images from the shooting with CNN iReport. For more information, visit CNN affiliates KGUN, KOLD, KVOA, KPHO and KMSB. Read the federal charges against Jared Lee Loughner.

Tucson, Arizona (CNN) -- She was born on September 11, 2001, and died in Saturday's shootings in Arizona. Christina Green's father says the nine years in between were special.

"It does say something about our society that our daughter was born on a tragic day and taken out on a tragic day," John Green told CNN's Casey Wian Sunday.

Christina attended the event hosted by Rep. Gabrielle Giffords because she had recently been chosen for the student council at Mesa Verde Elementary School, where families left flowers and a note that read, in part, "We are deeply saddened by the loss of this precious child."

"She was a great friend, a great sister, a great daughter," said Christina's mother, Roxanna Green. "We're so proud of her and I just want everyone to know ... that we got robbed, she got robbed, of a beautiful life that she could have had."

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RELATED TOPICS
  • Arizona
  • Gabrielle Giffords
  • Tucson

John Green said the reality of the overwhelming loss struck him early Sunday. "There's gonna be a lot of those kind of moments -- just waking up," he said, choking back tears. "She comes up and says, 'Daddy, it's time to get up,' and she didn't do that this morning."

Christina's father is a scout for the Los Angeles Dodgers; her grandfather, Dallas Green, won a World Series as manager of the Philadelphia Phillies. She was one of the few girls who played on the Canyon del Oro Little League.

Christina represented Maryland in a book published in 2002 called "Faces of Hope: Babies Born on 9/11" written by Christine Pisera Naman, who herself gave birth to a child on that day.

Two messages of hope accompany Christina's picture, which shows her smiling, a bow in her hair.

Opposite the picture reads: "I hope you help those in need. I hope you see rainbows." On the back reads: I hope you know all of the words to the national anthem and sing it with your hand over your heart. I hope you jump in rain puddles."

Naman said she learned of the killing Saturday night. "I was heartbroken," she said. "My heart goes out to the Green family and every prayer I have is with them."

CNN's Drew Griffin contributed to this report.

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