Northeast HS principal addresses SEPTA bus stop shooting that injured 8 students after final arrest
PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- The principal of Northeast High School addressed the community Wednesday in the wake of the SEPTA bus stop mass shooting that injured eight of his students earlier this month.
It comes one day after authorities arrested the fourth suspect in the shooting that took place at a bus stop in Burholme back on March 6.
"Despite hurt and fear, our school community has continued to show up for one another and that will not change," Northeast High School Principal Omar Crowder said.
WATCH: Northeast HS principal addresses violence in wake of bus stop shooting that injured 8 students
Crowder said student attendance has steadily improved since the mass shooting. He said it is back to around what it typically is this time of year at 85%.
He also said the school is working closely with SEPTA police, Philadelphia police, and the school resource officers.
"We are grateful for the increased patrols as they have helped students feel more comfortable coming to and from school," he said.
According to Philadelphia school officials, 199 public school children were shot last school year and 33 died. So far this year, 70 students have been victims of gun violence and seven have died.
"Although we are being told that violence is decreasing, when it happens to kids, it just feels different and it's received differently," Crowder said.
At Northeast High School, school officials said mental health services are now being provided for students and staff.
"If the students are worried about what happened to one of their classmates, they are not focused," Dr. Robin Cooper, the president of the Commonwealth Association of School Administrators, said. "Now we really have to think about the programs we need to bring in."
Cooper told Action News she is confident the superintendent, police commissioner and mayor will work together to get the violence under control.
Police say the gunfire rang out around 3 p.m. on March 6 as several Northeast High School students were waiting for the bus at Cottman and Rising Sun avenues.
Surveillance video released after the shooting shows three shooters exit a car and open fire.
VIDEO: Suspects wanted in Philly mass shooting that injured 8 at bus stop
The injured students were between 15 and 17 years old.
One of the victims, a 16-year-old, was shot nine times and had to be hospitalized in critical condition.
All of the victims are now stable, and the four suspects are now in custody.
The fourth suspect was taken into custody Tuesday in Alexandria, Virginia.
Police have said they are working to see if this shooting is connected to the killing of a 17-year-old Imhotep Charter High School student Dayemen Taylor days earlier.
Taylor was shot on March 4 while waiting at a SEPTA bus stop in Ogontz. Two other students and two bus passengers were also injured.
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