Harding H.S. stabbing victim ID'd as 15-year-old Devin Scott; police adding officers outside 5 district school
ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Police say the Ramsey County Medical Examiner's office has identified the 15-year-old student who died in a stabbing at Harding High School last week as Devin Scott, of St. Paul.
There will be no classes until Wednesday for students at Harding as the community mourns the death of a student.
The student was stabbed to death inside school grounds on Friday. The school went into lockdown for about 90 minutes, then dismissed early. A 16-year-old classmate was taken into custody. Charges have yet to be filed.
RELATED: "Kids shouldn't be losing their lives": Students react to fatal stabbing at Harding High School
To address security concerns in the short term, St. Paul Public Schools says it's working with the St. Paul Police Department to position two officers outside five large high schools in the district. They're also planning to add a third full-time support liaison at Harding starting Wednesday.
The move comes after activists and officers demanded an upgrade in safety protocols at district schools. Standing outside Harding Monday, Nasiy Nasir X of the New Black Panther Nation called upon district leaders to make schools safer for kids.
"Enough is enough. Now you have a dead child on the school grounds," Nasir X said. "Harding High School should not open back up until they have the proper security protocol in place."
Activists asked for metal detectors at all St. Paul schools, and intervention programs comprised of mentors who've made mistakes themselves, but learned from them.
"I don't think a lot of people understand what the teachers go through when they're trying to teach and you have unruly kids that are just inside of the schools, deciding that they want to do whatever to these teachers," said Miki Frost with the Truce Center.
Lisa Clemons of A Mother's Love Initiative also called on parents to get more involved with their kids.
"Stop not answering your phone when the school is calling you about something your kid is doing at that school," Clemons said. "We can't help you if you're not letting us help you."
The group also asked for security and police resource officers to return to schools. The school board voted to eliminate resource officers in 2020. Mark Ross, president of the St. Paul Police Federation, says that was a mistake.
"A lot of people in the community, I would say most people in the community, do want police officers back in school. In fact, they didn't ever want the police officers to be removed from the schools," Ross said.
Vanessa Young joined hundreds outside Harding High Monday night to mourn the loss of Scott.
"To get the news about him today was just really heartbreaking, because we were really planning to do something," Young said. "I know that he cared about his life. I know that he looked forward to a future because he was working towards it."
Young is the co-founder of 30,000 Feet, a youth program Scott was involved in since January, and where she says he was learning how to code. Recently, she says he told her he didn't feel safe in the area near Harding, and they were discussing how to handle the situation.
"And I said, 'You know, is there anything we can do to make you feel more safe? Is there anything we can do to bring you and the persons that, you know, you consider ops, right, to come together and like have a conversation and you know, just hash it out?' He was open to it," she said.
Educators, like Yusef Davis, hope to see improvements within the district when it comes to safety and security.
"Schools are supposed to be sanctuaries. Places and spaces where kids can come and grow and learn, and not die," Davis said. "All systems that are at play need to be revamped, overhauled, you know, deeply looked at."
Activists are also hoping to meet with Mayor Melvin Carter to talk about safer schools.
