The fatal shooting of Warren Curtis Grant, 15, rocked Joppatowne, a suburban neighborhood near Baltimore. Then the faith community stepped in.
By Rev. Dorothy S. Boulware
Word in Black
When news broke that a 16-year-old boy shot and killed a 15-year-old schoolmate in broad daylight in a nearby high school last week, Rev. Stacey Nickerson, pastor of Salem United Methodist Church of Upper Falls, Maryland, was horrified. But she also knew she had to help heal a community traumatized by gun violence.
Warren Curtis Grant, 15, was shot and killed during a fight with another student in a high school bathroom. His 16-year-old assailant has been charged with first-degree murder. (Photo courtesy Unsplash / H Joshua Coleman)
So Nickerson, whose church is about 20 miles northeast of Baltimore, did what ministers do best: she wrote, she listened and she leaned on personal relationships.
”I heard about the incident through social media and checked in with our media manager who lives near the school and has ties there,” says Nickerson. Then, she called neighboring faith leaders to get them on board.
“I raised the question: As we face the tragedy of a school shooting in our own community, how do we show that we value our young people?” she says. “I also challenged us to think about the opportunities we have to nurture young people as they discover and pursue their life’s purpose.”
The result is a grassroots, ad hoc coalition of churches and ministers who lifted up Joppatowne High School, its students and its teachers in prayer, coupled with small but meaningful gestures of support. That included writing encouraging notes to teachers, gathering a collection of snacks for the school and buying lunch — comfort food — from a local Italian restaurant.
The coalition came together not long after reports that Warren Curtis Grant, 15, was found with a gunshot wound in a bathroom at Joppatowne High. Authorities say Grant died after another student, a 16-year-old, allegedly pulled a gun after the two fought in the bathroom on Sept. 6.
The suspected gunman, Jaylen Prince, was taken into custody not long after the shooting. Although he is still a minor, authorities released Prince’s identity because he is being charged as an adult.
As a result of the gunfire, Harford County public schools officials shut down Joppatowne for several days. The school reopened on Sept. 12 with extra security measures in place.
Within hours of Grant’s death, a group of neighbors, religious leaders and community members came to the school and prayed, according to local TV station WMAR.
“It’s just been a sad day,” Daniel Mele, senior pastor at nearby Towne Baptist Church, told the station. Several members of the church’s youth group attend Joppatowne High.
Mike Nolan, founder of Harford County-based Breathe 379, said he was there to pray “for the community, and the rest of the kids and teachers.”
Salem United Methodist, Nickerson’s church, doesn’t have young members who attend Joppatowne, but three catch their morning bus at JoppaTowne to commute to Havre de Grace High School.
Still, Nickerson, the pastor, was deeply affected by the incident and wanted to find ways to help. The first was a message on social media to let the community know Salem United Methodist stands with Joppatowne High.
”We actually have a working relationship with Magnolia Elementary and Middle schools, but haven’t worked with Joppatowne in the past,” Nickerson says. She noted that the faith community included in prayer Apalachee High School in Georgia, scene of the country’s latest mass school shooting.
Because the shooting happened two days before Sunday worship, “our youth Sunday School class talked about their experiences and feelings,” Nickerson says. She said Sept. 8 was “Rally Day,” when the church hails the start of a new school year for its young worshippers.
“I had planned to speak on the prophet Jeremiah with a focus on him being called by God at a young age,” Nickerson says. Because the shooting happened just days before, she says, “I was able to add to my focus some things that addressed the incident and our opportunity to respond.”
Nickerson invited Salem members to wear purple on Sept. 9 to show their support, then connected to a partner in faith.
“I reached out to Pastor Adam Shellenbarger of Joppatowne Christian Church because he is very active in the schools. He shared with me some of what is being planned and I plan to participate,” Nickerson says.
The next day, Nickerson emailed her congregation with additional opportunities to show support, including donating snacks for teachers and staff along with notes of support, and making donations to Sapore Di Mare, a local restaurant that is donating lunch to the school on Sept. 13.
Nickerson says a group of alumni is sponsoring a get-together at Joppatowne Christian Church on Sept. 25 to write notes as well.
She says she will also deliver those notes in coordination with what others are doing, and that Salem will continue to be involved with JoppaTowne in whatever ways they are able.
