KALAMAZOO (WKZO-AM) — The mood at Thursday’s Kalamazoo Public Schools board meeting was somber, as many trustees expressed their condolences to the families of the two students who lost their lives to gun violence this week.
Supt. Michael Rice told the crowd in attendance that it was “indescribably tragic” to lose two students in five days.
Chairperson Patti Sholler-Barber said it would be a greater tragedy if parents did not take this moment to talk to their children about gun violence.
“(We need to be teaching) on conflict resolution, teaching on where children should be, (and) teaching on how guns can fall into the wrong hands,” Sholler-Barber said.
She also said both shootings were unnecessary and avoidable.
“No families should ever have to go through this,” Sholler-Barber said.
The funeral for 18-year-old Deshontae Ellis, who was killed in the parking lot of the Oshtemo Red Roof Inn, will be held Friday afternoon. Funeral details for 17-year-old Temetrion Hegler, who was allegedly shot by his step-grandfather in a home on Lane Boulevard in Kalamazoo, have not been announced.
– John McNeill
