Students return to high school after deadly shooting rampage
BENTON, Ky. — Students returned Friday to the Kentucky high school where a fellow student went on a shooting rampage, killing two teenagers and injuring several others in an attack that shook the rural community.
The first school day at Marshall County High School since the attack Tuesday began with an assembly in the gymnasium. The school reopened after Kentucky State Police said they had finished processing the scene at the school.
The 15-year-old boy accused of gunning down students has been ordered held on murder and assault charges as the town of Benton strained to cope with the devastation.
On Thursday, a juvenile court judge found probable cause to keep detaining the teenager as authorities gather evidence to support trying him as an adult for the attack, Assistant Marshall County Attorney Jason Darnall said. Authorities, meanwhile, are hoping to discover why a handgun was turned on a crowd of students, all 14 to 18, as they waited for the morning bell Tuesday.
As the legal process began for the suspect, others in the small rural community sought to overcome the shock of Tuesday’s shooting that left two people dead and 21 injured with a show of solidarity. Hundreds gathered amid flickering candles after nightfall Thursday to honor the victims as many wept.
Nearly 300 people, many with faces visibly etched with pain, thronged a park as firefighters raised a large American flag in the crisp night air. Many teens, cupping candles in their palms, hugged and looked on somberly. One girl’s candle shook in her hands as she sobbed, and others cried when another girl sang “Amazing Grace.”
“It always happens somewhere else, you know, but this week it was our community,” said Misti Drew, an organizer of the vigil.
Earlier, Vicki Jo Reed painted a “Marshall Strong” sign on a storefront, and reflected on her grandson’s close call.
“Had a grandson that was in the commons area through the whole thing, and he, like all the other kids, is not handling it very good,” she said.