Detroit community rallies behind Gompers in wake of student stabbing

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Students at Gompers Elementary-Middle School made their return to school Monday for the first time since an eighth grader stabbed another girl in front of a classroom full of students on Oct. 8.

But despite the early morning darkness and chill in the air, Detroit school board members, city and state officials, police officers, and community leaders came out in full force to support the students during a difficult time.

The stabbing happened after the mother of one of the students brought a knife to her daughter inside the school, according to the Detroit Public Schools Community District. The mother set off a metal detector but was allowed to enter the school without being searched by the security guard on duty, officials said.

During a clap-in for the students, DPSCD Superintendent Nikolai Vitti said that an assistant principal has been placed on administrative leave pending an investigation, as well as the security guard who let the mother inside the school. Security has also been beefed up following the incident.

“We talk about all of our students feeling loved, challenged, and prepared. That’s not new,” he said. “When they showed up this morning, I could see the smiles, I could see the excitement. They’re acknowledging that what happened last week is not normal.”

A fight reportedly occurred between the two students outside the school days before the stabbing, Superintendent Nikolai Vitti said during a parent meeting Oct. 9. The school’s administration was aware of the fight, he said, and both parents were contacted and asked to come to the school to talk about the “tension” between the students.

The mother and the student were arrested Oct. 8, according to the district. The student who was stabbed has been released from the hospital, Vitti said.

‘Showing up in a major way’

“Good morning, Gompers Elementary!” Lynn McNeal, a community liaison for Detroit City Council, yelled into a megaphone Monday morning as a stream of young children made their way to the main entrance from the school bus. “We’re 100% here with you!”

Detroit’s Task Force on Black Male Engagement, chaired by City Council President Pro Tem James Tate, organized the clap-in for Gompers students. He told BridgeDetroit that the clap-ins are something the group has been doing at schools across the city since 2014. When Tate found out about the incident at Gompers, he reached out to DPSCD school board vice president LaTrice McClendon on what he could do to help.

“We were trying to put our minds together, and she said, ‘You know what? It makes sense for you to come and do the clap-in,’” Tate said. “But in speaking with Rev. Larry (Simmons from Brightmoor Alliance), it was very clear that we’ve got to do more, so that’s when we start reaching out to some of the community organizations as well. That’s how we got together today.”

Tate said the village showed up in a major way for Gompers, with people like Michigan Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist, U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib, new Detroit ombudsman and former school board member Sherry Gay-Dagnogo, and several members of the Detroit Police Department’s Sixth Precinct in attendance to support the students.

“Today was different; today was special,” Tate said. “It wasn’t just men who came out. These were men, women, folks from different walks of life. It was so critical for everyone to understand that it’s not just a governmental response, it’s just not a school response, but it’s literally all of our responsibility to wrap our arms around these children so that they understand that we love them and care for them, that they’re seen and heard and that we want to do everything we can to protect them as they grow and move forward and prosper in our community.”

One of the parents dropping off at the school Monday was Annastasia Martin, who has a daughter in the first grade. She said her daughter wasn’t really aware of the stabbing. However, Martin wishes that the district would have told parents about the incident sooner. That concern was also raised during last week’s parent meeting.

“I heard about it on the 5 p.m. news first, and then I got a robocall from the school, so that was disappointing,” Martin said.

Carla Milton’s three children, who are in first, third, and seventh grades, weren’t anxious to return to Gompers, but couldn’t believe that a stabbing would take place at their school, she said.

“My daughter (the seventh grader) has been going to Gompers since she was in kindergarten, so we’ve been here for a while,” Milton said. “There’s been a few incidents here and there, but nothing as bad as this.”

As Gompers ramps up its security measures by increasing the number of security guards from two to three and adding a police officer, Milton wants to see the district’s protocols being followed, including searching everyone’s bags.

“We gotta keep the kids safe,” she said.

Micah Walker is a reporter for BridgeDetroit. You can reach her at mwalker@bridgedetroit.com.