BALTIMORE — Tuesday, school was not in session at Mervo High School, but it was open for students to receive counseling after a classmate was killed.
It happened outside of school last Friday in the school parking lot where 17-year-old Jeremiah Brogden was killed.
Many parents, including Rita Winstead, expressed words of pain and anger because they knew Brogden.
“All summer they waited to go back to school and the first week of school this is so devastating. He was a sweet boy, he had a smile that would light up the sky. He was friendly, loving, hard working,” Winstead said.
It's how Winstead said she will remember Brogdon. He was a friend and teammate of her grandson who also attends Mervo High School, and now they’re coming to grips with the fact they will never see him alive again.
READ MORE:Police identify student shot and killed by teen from another school during dismissal at Mervo High
“He was at school, he wasn’t somewhere doing something he wasn’t supposed to be doing. This is not a Mervo problem, this is a Baltimore City problem. This affects all of us tremendously, there are over 1,800 children that go to this school, a great number of them were still here. They saw and or heard what was going on,” Winstead said.
Mayor Brandon Scott also attended those support sessions. Police said it was a 17-year-old from another school who pulled the trigger.
He was arrested and a gun was found right after that shooting.
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“When you lose a classmate, when you lose a teammate, imagine not just having it happen, but seeing it happen and seeing your loved one be in that state that’s not normal,” Scott said.
Parents like Winstead said this should be a wake-up call for anyone with children to know their whereabouts while talking to them about gun safety.
“It is your responsibility and your duty to know where your child is, what your child is doing, who your child is with. Nobody’s taking responsibility for their own kids,” Winstead said.
Mayor Scott expressed how Tuesday's support session was a time for students and staff to be vulnerable as they begin their healing process.
“We’re at a point now where we are trying to heal and beginning that long, long, long, process of healing. I just know today was a powerful start,” Scott said.
School will be in session Wednesday, however, school leaders said there will be a staggered opening for each grade. To find out when your child can report to school click here.
