Mark Hamill speaks at Star Wars: The Force Awakens panel on day 2 of Comic-Con International on July 10, 2015, in San Diego, Calif.Richard Shotwell/The Associated Press
A six-year-old boy who captured the attention of a province — and one of his Star Wars heroes — has passed away from cancer.
Kaiden Little’s family posted a Facebook message saying the little boy died at about 2:15 p.m. Monday in Newfoundland, three years after being diagnosed with an aggressive form of neuroblastoma.
The sad news prompted a response from actor Mark Hamill, who portrayed Luke Skywalker in the little boy’s favourite movies, the Star Wars franchise.
Just a couple of hours after his death, Hamill posted a tweet that said, “So sorry to hear of the tragic loss of Kaiden… The Force will be with him from here to eternity!”
The family said in its message that they were “devastated and hurting from the pain of missing our boy,” but that he “fought like a true Super Hero right to the end and used his Star Wars force to show all how brave he is and how much love he had to give.”
A picture accompanying the message on the site, called Kaiden’s Janeway Adventure, shows what appears to be Kaiden’s hand resting on the hands of his family.
Condolences also came in from the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary, who had treated him to a police convoy after learning the little boy had wanted to become a police officer.