DORCHESTER, MASS. (WHDH) - Parents, students, locals and more are expressing concern after a shooting outside of a high school in Dorchester left a 17-year-old injured Tuesday morning.
The teen was reportedly shot by another student outside of the Jeremiah E. Burke High School, according to Boston Police, putting the school in “safe mode” immediately after the incident.
“I’m not used to this kind of stuff, I’ve never seen or heard stuff like this happen before in school,” said student Eona Jackson, describing scenes from inside the school during the incident. “We were just in lock down – our teacher (was) kind of shaken up, she’s like ‘everybody, be quiet.’ We were just like, we have no idea what’s going on.”
Eona’s mother said it was a scary ordeal for her as well, after not initially knowing what was happening
“This is the second time I have to get in touch with my child, telling me what is going on over here,” said Erica Jones. “No teacher’s telling me anything.”
Tuesday’s shooting came just three weeks after a student stabbed another inside the school.
Nearby the scene of the shooting, Boston activist Rev. Eugene Rivers called on city leaders to do more to prevent the violence.
“We’ve got metal detectors in federal buildings, we have metal detectors in courts, but in the most violent areas of the city, you don’t want to put metal detectors,” Rivers told reporters.
Two city council members reacting to the shooting said the city needs to listen more to students as a community as part of any response.
“Look in and see what our students are saying, I want to look and make sure that the things that really helped me when I was a Boston Public Schools student, which is having a guidance counselor who I could turn to,” said Councilor At-Large Ruthzee Louijeune. “I think that we need to be intentional about putting resources into our schools and listening to our students when they tell us what they need to feel safe in a school system.”
“We can listen more, we can really take our lead from the students who are living the realities and create the environment that they see for themselves,” said Councilor At-Large Julia Mejia. “And I think if we include them in that process, then we might potentially see different results.”
In a statement, BPS officials said they have provided resources for students and families in the aftermath of Tuesday’s shooting, including a helpline number that was emailed to parents and a team of social workers that will be on-site for students on Wednesday.
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