Mervo High School students receive counseling following fatal shooting on school property
BALTIMORE -- Mervo High School students gathered Tuesday for the first time since one of their classmates was killed outside the Northeast Baltimore school on Friday.
Instead of having classes Tuesday, the school district used the day to provide counseling for students who are grappling with the murder of their friend and teammate, Jeremiah Brogden.
Investigators say Brogden was shot multiple times outside the school during dismissal on Friday. Police say the shooting happened after an argument intensified. The unidentified teen has been arrested and charged with first-degree murder.
After Brogden was shot, students frantically ran away from the scene and many had to deal with the grief by themselves during the long holiday weekend.
But Tuesday, they were back inside the school building to console each other and to receive professional counseling.
WJZ spoke with Kerry Stovall Jr. after he dropped off his younger brother who also played football with the victim.
"It makes me worried about him mentally, you know. I want to talk to him about it—see if he got anything to say or how he feels about it," Kerry Stovall Jr. said. "So, later on when I see him again I may ask him myself."
Before high school, Brogden went to Baltimore Collegiate. His science teacher there watched his evolution.
"Jeremiah was a leader on and off the field. You know, he may have struggled you know, in certain aspects, but he grew over the years since he's been here and seeing that type of character development in him made this job rewarding for me," said Stacy Stovall, Brogden's former science teacher. "It's just really tough to have that type of loss from a student like Jeremiah."
Mayor Brandon Scott, who graduated from Mervo, was at the school for support Tuesday.
"When you lose a classmate, when you lose a teammate, imagine not just having it happen but seeing it happen and seeing your loved one be in that state," Scott said. "That's not normal. And our young people are now starting to really have to grapple with that and that's why the supports are here."
On Wednesday, school will resume with a staggered opening. The seniors will return first at 7:45 a.m. juniors will return at 9 a.m., and ninth and tenth graders at 10 a.m.
Thursday and Friday will be back to regular start times at 7:45 a.m.