Increased police presence at high school in Boston after student shot by classmate

BOSTON — There will be an increased police presence on the campus of a high school in Boston until further notice and counselors will be made available after a student was shot by a classmate on Tuesday morning.

Officers responding to a report of a shooting at the Jeremiah E. Burke High School on Washington Street in Dorchester just after 9:30 a.m. found an 18-year-old boy suffering from an apparent gunshot wound, according to Boston Police Superintendent Felipe Colon.

The 18-year-old student wounded in the shooting was said to be in stable condition. A 17-year-old student was arrested in connection with the incident. A firearm was also recovered in nearby yard.

In a letter to families Tuesday night, the school district apologized to parents for not notifying them earlier about the shooting.

A notification wasn’t sent out until after school hours.

“My heart breaks as a mom and a resident of the city,” said Mayor Michelle Wu during a news conference outside the Burke.

City and school leaders say the school’s ‘safety specialist’ quickly put the high school into ‘Safe Mode’ when the gunfire broke out.

That means no one was allowed to enter or leave the building.

“What happened today is…it’s not ok,” said Mayor Wu. “And it cannot be the responsibility of just our school department to address violence in our communities.”

Just three weeks ago another student was stabbed inside the same high school.

The Boston Police Patrolmen’s Association is concerned about the safety of students after the recent violence in schools.

“How many more kids need to get hurt, stabbed, shot before we put police officers back in the schools or do something more than talking about working collaboratively but not putting any real action behind it?” said Larry Calderone, president of the Boston Police Patrolmen’s Association.

Calderone says more needs to be done to address the recent uptick in violence at Boston Public Schools.

“Kids are there to learn and should feel safe in their environment, and if it’s a metal detector or a police officer that makes them feel that way or keeps them safe, then that’s what the city of Boston should be doing first,” said Calderone.

Calderone says over the last year, the city has taken Boston police officers out of the schools, which he believes is a mistake when it comes to keeping schools safe.

“The officers knew the staff, they knew the kids, they knew the bad players, which made the other children that are there to learn feel safer,” said Calderone.

Superintendent of Schools Mary Skipper says there will be a bigger police presence at the school in the coming days. Plus, they’ll have a team of social workers at the Burke school Wednesday to provide support services to the students if needed.

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