UPDATE: The three remaining hospitalized patients wounded in the shooting near Therrell High School Tuesday are now listed in stable condition, including the patient whose condition was upgraded overnight from critical, according to Grady Memorial Hospital spokeswoman Denise Simpson. All three are expected to remain at Grady at least through Friday. Two of the five shot have been treated and released since Tuesday.
WEDNESDAY REPORT: While one person's condition worsened a day after being shot near Therrell High School, the alleged shooter remained in jail today after being denied bond.
Five people, including four students, were shot around 4 p.m. Tuesday after classes ended at the southwest Atlanta school. Tonight, three of the injured remained hospitalized at Grady Memorial Hospital. But one, whose name was not released, was in critical condition, a hospital spokeswoman said.
The alleged shooter, 17-year-old Marcellus Zechariah Brooks, was arrested early today and charged with five counts of aggravated assault and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, according to police. Already out on bond at the time of his latest arrest, Brooks, also a Therrell student, was denied bond at his first court appearance late this morning.
Back at Therrell, classes continued today, though about 100 off the school’s 800 students stayed home, Associate Superintendent Steve Smith said. But there was a different vibe on campus, where the shootings were the constant topic.
School officials confiscated bookbags and backpacks at the door, and there were more officers present. School officials limited students’ activity in the hallways during classes, one student said.
“The metal detectors weren’t new, but them taking the bookbags was different,” Tabitha Marshall, 15, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
School staff also spoke to students about the shooting, Danesha McCroskey, 17, said.
“There were counselors (in school) today,” Danesha said. “And several of our teachers encouraged us to talk to someone if we need to.”
There are six days of school left at Therrell, and school leaders hope to make things as normal as possible.
“We still must ensure that instruction goes on in an environment that they can be safe and secure,” Smith said. “The goal is that we have a safe, secure environment where instruction takes place even at year end.”
Trevion Morgan, 18, told Channel 2 Action News that he was among the other students that gathered Tuesday to watch a fight after school — a fight that didn’t happen. Seconds later, he was shot in the chest, just inches away from his heart. He fell to the ground, he said today outside his home.
“It hurt. I couldn’t really breathe,” Morgan said. “But they kept talking to me, all the principals were talking to me and police, they talked to me to keep me awake.”
Morgan’s mother, Keshia Hurston, told Channel 2 she feared the worst when she got the call about her son being shot.
“I cried, I prayed the whole ride because I got called at work,” Hurston said. “All you can do is talk to your children, and at the end of the day, you can just hope and pray that they listen to you because this is an eye opener for everyone.”
Morgan was treated and released from Grady, but bandages on his chest and arm showed his injuries from the path the bullet traveled.
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