A Pittsburgh school board member whose district includes Oliver Citywide Academy accused the superintendent of being “more concerned with the aesthetics of looking good in public than taking any real action” a day after a deadly shooting at the Marshall-Shadeland school.
Oliver student Jaymier Perry, 15, of Hays, faces homicide and weapons charges after police said he shot fellow student Derrick Harris Jr., 15, multiple times on the front steps of the school just before 7:30 a.m. Wednesday, police said.
Police said Perry punched, kicked and stomped on Harris’ head and upper body after Harris fell to the ground, while a witness told police Perry pistol-whipped Harris after shooting him, according to a criminal complaint filed in the case.
Police believe the 9mm semiautomatic handgun Perry used in the shooting belonged to Perry’s mother, according to the criminal complaint in the case.
Harris was pronounced dead at UPMC Presbyterian hospital in Oakland at 8:16 a.m. Wednesday, authorities said. Perry is being held in Allegheny County Jail.
The shooting came about 16 months after another Oliver student was shot and killed as he sat in a van outside the school. Police last month charged Eugene Watson, 18, and his brother, Brandon Watson, 17, both of the city’s Crafton Heights neighborhood, with homicide, conspiracy and firearms violations in connection with the January 2022 shooting death of Marquis Campbell, 15. The Watsons are both charged as adults, as is Perry.
Pittsburgh Public Schools board member Kevin Carter, whose district includes Oliver Citywide Academy, expressed frustration with the response of Superintendent Wayne N. Walters.
“The superintendent has not called me, checked in or responded to my requests for information regarding the concerns of my parents, students and community members,” Carter told the Tribune-Review on Thursday.
“There seems to be a complete lack of communication and forthrightness from this administration on issues of safety and security,” Carter added. “By not keeping our students safe, (Walters) has failed in his responsibilities as the leader of this school district.”
Carter called on the superintendent to “deliver a plan that offers solutions, or he must step aside so we can find a leader who can. There is no time for complacency and inaction. These are serious issues, and they must be swiftly addressed.”
The school district did not respond Thursday to multiple requests for comment.
The Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers, the union representing much of Oliver Citywide Academy’s staff, also called on the district to not send students back to the school for the rest of the academic year — opting instead to have them learn virtually.
The students will learn virtually at least through the end of this week, school officials have said.
A GoFundMe page was set up Thursday to raise money for Harris’ funeral, his mother, Erin Krall, said in a message on the website.
“Derrick was a kindhearted, loving son and brother,” Krall said on the GoFundMe page. “He loved playing video games and sports with his friends. His smile and sense of humor brought so much love and light to those who love him.”
The page had raised more than $7,000 of a $13,000 goal by Thursday afternoon.
Perry, the alleged shooter, was arraigned late Wednesday and a judge denied bail. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for June 2.
Oliver Citywide Academy is a special-education school that serves about 100 students in grades three through 12. Each student at the school has an Individualized Education Plan, or IEP. It was unclear Thursday what percentage of those IEPs are for emotional or behavioral problems.
The school has a graduation rate of 71%, according to rankings by U.S. News and World Report. More than 80% of students at the school live in poverty and receive free school lunches.
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