Roxborough High School is getting $500,000 for security enhancements after the fatal shooting last month
Police said five gunmen discharged more than 60 shots toward a group of Roxborough football players after a junior varsity scrimmage on Sept. 27.
Roxborough High School is set to receive $500,000 for security enhancements after a shooting outside the school last month that killed a 14-year-old boy and left four other teens injured.
Police said five gunmen discharged more than 60 shots toward a group of Roxborough football players after a junior varsity scrimmage Sept. 27. Nicolas Elizalde, who would have turned 15 earlier this week, was killed.
» READ MORE: ‘It’s surreal.’ After Roxborough shootings, officials, community leaders plead for an end to gun violence
Police have released images of the suspects believed to be involved in the shooting and last week put out an arrest warrant for 16-year-old Dayron Burney-Thorne, who they believe took part in the gunfire. On Wednesday, police announced the first arrest in the case, Yaaseen Bivins, 21, who is charged with murder.
The state funding, from the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development, was secured by State Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta (D., Philadelphia) and State Rep. Pamela A. DeLissio and State Sen. Vincent Hughes, Democrats who represent Philadelphia and parts of Montgomery County. The legislators did not say how the money will be spent.
An Inquirer analysis of police data found that thousands of people have been shot near schools in Philadelphia in recent years, and at least 528 people have been shot within 400 feet of a school in the last year alone.
“This for me is not a moment of celebration” Kenyatta, an alum of Roxborough High School, said in a statement. “ Nicholas is gone and four other students will never be the same. This is the least we can do to help make students and families at Roxborough feel a tiny bit safer in light of this tragedy, We must do everything possible to make sure that another parent or guardian doesn’t have to grieve the loss of their child.”
» READ MORE: What we know about the Roxborough High School shooting
Superintendent Tony B. Watlington, Sr. thanked the legislators.
“We have always viewed our schools as safe havens for our students and our Office of School Safety, alongside school administration and staff, work tirelessly to keep our students safe,” Watlington said.