The morning after four students were shot at Benjamin E. Mays High in Atlanta, their classmates returned to school amid increased security.
The shooting, which broke out in the parking lot shortly before 4 p.m. Wednesday as students were being dismissed, left the community rattled as the victims — three 17-year-olds and an 18-year-old — were rushed to a hospital. Their injuries weren’t considered life-threatening.
Authorities have not released a motive for the shooting. Atlanta police said Wednesday night that three people, a 35-year-old woman and her teenage children, were taken to police headquarters for questioning. Police had not announced any arrests by Thursday afternoon.
Credit: John Spink/AJC
Credit: John Spink/AJC
Many parents and community leaders raised concerns Thursday about the safety of young people in area schools and the community.
“We are failing these children as a community,” parent Michael Cohen told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Thursday morning.
“They don’t feel safe ... and after this? What do you expect kids to do when they’re tired?” he asked. “Obviously, they’re not being protected here. Obviously, they’re not being protected on the streets. So what are we doing to make these kids feel safe so they don’t feel like they gotta come and retaliate?”
JaTawn Robinson, president of the Atlanta Association of Educators, called the shooting in a statement “another unfortunate instance of our societal ills impacting our school environments.”
A strong law enforcement presence was at the school Thursday. Mays Principal Ramon Garner said the school also had 25 grief counselors on hand to help students and staff cope with the incident. He said he wants to plan a community summit about youth gun violence to discuss ways to address the problem.
Credit: Miguel Martinez
Credit: Miguel Martinez
“We have the assistance of the Atlanta Police Department, and we’re going to be very visible,” the school district’s police Chief Ronald Applin said Wednesday night. “We’re going to be very noticeable on campus ... In the hallways, outside as you come into the school — very visible so that we can make sure that they feel a lot more comfortable (Thursday) when they come to school.”
Akien Williams, vice president of the school’s Parent Student Teacher Association, said Mays doesn’t normally have issues with gun violence, but that there are security protocols in place. He said leaders are working to combat student involvement in gun violence by developing methods for early intervention.
“Yes, fights are going to happen. However, as a society, as a community, how can we make sure that our young folks are not bringing guns to the school, and (can) resolve issues more peacefully?” he said. “That’s our ultimate goal. We cannot, as a community, turn a naked eye to this. Mays High School needs your support.”
Trina Hughley, a Mays parent, APS graduate and former APS middle school teacher, now heads an education nonprofit that has worked with Mays and other schools on conflict resolution and peer mediation.
“As with all communities, the youth need our help right now more than ever!!!” Hughley wrote in a text message. “They need volunteers who are willing to do the work of mentoring, helping students avoid risky behaviors and just being there as a listening ear! The Mays High School community is strong and we will get through this!”
Reaction from local and national leaders
Wednesday’s shooting drew national attention, including reaction from President Joe Biden, who mentioned it in a statement about the gunfire at the Kansas Chiefs Super Bowl victory parade. Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens, a Mays High graduate, visited the school Wednesday night and said he was “heartbroken” by the incident.
Advocacy group Everytown for Gun Safety and its grassroots arms, Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action issued statements calling on action from federal lawmakers on the shooting.
“Our lives shouldn’t be the cost of an education, but this is what happens when lawmakers choose a path of inaction. It doesn’t have to be like this. We don’t have to keep dying like this,” Sophie Chang, with Students Demand Action, said in a news release.
While there has been recent bipartisan federal legislation addressing gun safety, Georgia legislators have relaxed laws around firearms. Atlanta City Council President Doug Shipman, who spent time with some Mays students earlier Wednesday, called for action from Georgia lawmakers.
Credit: screenshot
Credit: screenshot
In an interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Shipman said the lack of interest in gun safety legislation among lawmakers is frustrating.
“I’m just reminded in a situation like what happened at Mays, if you’re a young person and you want to acquire a gun, we don’t require locks at home, we don’t require insurance,” he said. “We know that people are keeping guns in their cars, and those are getting stolen and used in crimes. We just don’t seem to have an appetite to try to create policy that would make it harder, especially for young people, to find guns and then use guns.”
‘This is not who we are’
Meanwhile, inside the school building, students want the world to know their school is not a magnet for violence.
“This is a very good school,” said senior Tamar Echols. “Of course, it’s been through some tragedies, but everybody faces adversity, right? I don’t want anybody to think that I come from a bad school.”
Echols said the mood throughout the halls Thursday was “gloomy.” She and fellow senior Madison Allen said Mays is usually a happy place.
“Sometimes we’ll come to school and they have music playing and everyone’s talking to each other,” Allen said. “You can tell it’s just a high-lift school. Everyone loves each other.”
Credit: Miguel Martinez
Credit: Miguel Martinez
The school is named for storied Atlantan Benjamin E. Mays, a former Morehouse College president and the first African-American elected to the Atlanta school board.
“I want to make sure that everybody knows that’s not who we are,” said Garner. “That’s not who Mays High School is. Our school has a rich tradition that’s led by a legacy of people who came before us who are standing and holding us up.”
Atlanta police have asked people with any information on the shooting to contact Crime Stoppers at 404-577-TIPS.
