Family, friends: Sotloff dedicated his life to portraying suffering in war zones
Family spokesman Barak Barfi told reporters gathered outside the family's suburban Miami home Wednesday that Sotloff 'tried to find good concealed in a world of darkness,' and to give voice to the weak and suffering in the Arab world.
Students and supporters take part in a candle light vigil at the University of Central Florida, Wednesday, in Orlando, Fla., to honor Steven Sotloff, the second American journalist to be beheaded by the Islamic State group in two weeks. Sotloff attended University of Central Florida between 2002 and 2004.
John Raoux/AP
The family of a journalist slain by Islamic State militants says Steven Sotloff dedicated his life to portraying the suffering of people in war zones, but was "no hero."
Family spokesman Barak Barfi told reporters gathered outside the family's suburban Miami home Wednesday that Sotloff "tried to find good concealed in a world of darkness," and to give voice to the weak and suffering in the Arab world.
A militant video released Tuesday showed the beheading of Sotloff, who was kidnapped in Syria last year.
Barfi said Sotloff was "no war junkie," but was drawn to the stories of the turbulent Middle East.
Barfi said Sotloff's family was grieving, but have pledged to "not allow our enemies to hold us hostage with the sole weapon they possess - fear."
The mother of slain U.S. journalist James Foley says she hopes the killing of a second American in Syria will galvanize world leaders to find peaceful solutions to global conflicts.
Diane Foley, of Rochester, New Hampshire, told New England Cable News on Wednesday that she had hoped Steven Sotloff and other captives held by the Islamic State group in Syria would be spared.
Diane Foley said she sends her deepest condolences to the Sotloff family and says "we are just heartbroken for them."
She says she hopes the worldwide outrage over the killings is "funneled into goodness and peace."