School-shooting victim allowed to die
A 16-year-old girl who was shot when a classmate opened fire inside their Maryland high school is brain dead and is being removed from life support, her mother said Thursday.
Melissa Willey told reporters Thursday night that her daughter, Jaelynn Willey, has “no life left in her.” She said Jaelynn would be removed from life support during the evening, in accordance with the family’s decision.
The mother, holding a young baby, said, “On Tuesday … our lives changed completely and totally forever. My daughter was hurt by a boy who shot her in the head and took everything from our lives.”
Jaelynn was shot Tuesday by 17-yearold Austin Rollins at Great Mills High School in St. Mary’s County.
Rollins died after shooting Willey. A school resource officer got there within a minute and fired a shot at Rollins, but it’s not yet clear whether Rollins was killed by the officer’s bullet or took his own life.
The St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office said Wednesday Rollins and the girl had been in a relationship that recently ended.
“All indications suggest the shooting was not a random act of violence,” police said in a statement.
Willey had been in critical condition at the University of Maryland Prince George’s Hospital Center. A fundraising page to help her family has raised more than $59,000 US.
Jaelynn was one of nine siblings, her mother said.
The shooting broke out just before classes were to begin Tuesday, according to the sheriff’s office, which said the gun used belonged to Rollins’ father.
A 14-year-old boy who was shot in the thigh during the encounter was released Wednesday from a hospital.