RICHMOND — Shots rang out once again in central Richmond Monday morning, hitting a 15-year-old John F. Kennedy High School student as he walked with a friend to school.
The boy, who has no criminal record, was hit in the foot by shots fired from a moving van near the corner of 25th Street and Virginia Avenue, according to Lt. Mark Gagan of the Richmond Police Department.
The victim, whose name was not released, was hospitalized in stable condition.
“He’s fortunate,” Gagan said. “They shot him point blank.”
This is the third time since the start of school that someone associated with Kennedy was shot, said head counselor Kelly Mosley. In previous shootings, none of which happened on campus, one person died and one survived.
“I’m tired of the shootings. It’s just senseless,” Mosley said.
Police have a description of the van in Monday’s crime, but Gagan would not give more details.
When the news came that a student was shot on his way to school, Kennedy High staff decided to respond quietly. Doors and gates were locked, teachers were told to keep an eye out for students in need of counseling, but no announcements about the crime were made.
While the school prides itself on its close-knit community, staff decided that spreading the news would only spread panic.
“It’s a scary thing for kids and it takes away their focus,” Mosley said. “We don’t want to alert them unless we need to.”
As of 1:30 p.m., no students had sought counseling.
As school let out, many students still had not heard about the shooting. Angel Reyes, 17, a senior, said she was bothered that the school had not made an announcement.
“It’s our community,” she said, adding that an announcement might discourage kids from hanging around outside.
Sophomore Jamoria Wilson, 14, agreed. He said that students at Kennedy feel like they are in the middle of territorial feuding that has fueled violence in Richmond over the past couple of months.
“We’re like sitting ducks,” he said.
Last month, two of 11 people shot within one week in Richmond were associated with the school. One student’s brother was among the victims, though he survived. The other, the son of a special education teacher’s aide, was killed.
After those shootings, emergency grief counselors were called to the school to help students deal with the trauma.
When told of Monday’s shooting, some parents seemed concerned but not surprised. Amalia Correa, who has two kids, Luis, 16, and Karina, 14, at Kennedy, said her children do not spend much time outside of school or home.
“It’s ugly outside,” she said.
Melody Lee, mother of Chio Saechoa, 17, said she has her cell phone ready at all times in case her kids are in trouble while they are at school.
“Every minute is dangerous,” she said.
