15-year-old killed outside Oliver Citywide Academy texted mom about birthday before shooting
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — The family of the 15-year-old boy shot and killed Wednesday outside Oliver Citywide Academy is remembering his life.
According to police, 15-year-old Derrick Harris Jr. was shot and killed by 15-year-old Jaymier Perry. Harris' family was working on planning his 16th birthday next Wednesday the morning of his death.
"We were actually just texting back and forth before that happened about his birthday. He had texted me some things he had wanted for his birthday," the boy's mother, Erin Krall, said.
Now they are planning his funeral. His mom is sick to her stomach.
"I sent him out of here yesterday to go to school, to get his education, and he didn't come back," Krall said.
Harris went to Oliver Citywide Academy for two years, and Wednesday started just like any other. Then his mother learned shots were fired near the school. She didn't panic and tried calling and texting her son. No answer. His siblings tried. No answer.
Then the principal called and said Harris was shot.
"That's a phone call I was never expecting at all. I just can't get over it. It's just replaying over and over and over," Krall said on her front porch Thursday.
The teenager died at the hospital before his family could get there. Both his mother and younger sister, Kyla Harris, want to know why there wasn't better security outside of the school. They want accountability from the district.
"Y'all just let my baby suffer. That's not even helping us. That's just letting our baby sit there and suffer and that's not OK," Kyla said.
"Where was the security? Where were the adults? Where was the staff at? I don't understand," Krall said.
Kyla has a birthday 21 days after her brother's. She wants to know why someone would kill her big brother, who she said enjoyed playing basketball and video games and was loved by so many.
"I never wanted to bury my brother at this age and it's crazy. It was a kid who shot him. It's just unexplainable," Kyla said. "You killed my brother. He's never going to come back. Never ever. It's sad, it's disturbing. You just walk around. You don't get to see your brother no more."
KDKA-TV reached out to the district about reports of an incident between Perry and Derrick earlier this week but has not heard back. Perry is in the Allegheny County jail awaiting a preliminary hearing.