Two months later, GRPS parents stuck with same questions about Alger Middle shooting

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — Nearly two months after a student was shot during school hours near Alger Middle School, parents continue to ask the district questions, including how and why the two boys involved were able to leave the school building in the first place.

Recordings provided to News 8 by a Grand Rapids Public Schools parent show that immediately following the shooting on May 21, dispatch was flooded with calls from concerned parents whose kids had texted or called them.

“My daughter just called me from Alger Middle School. There’s something going on there. I don’t know if the cops know about it or if you can tell me what’s going on. But she was terrified,” one frantic mother said.

“My daughter is a student at Alger Middle School. Can you just verify to me that she is safe at school? I don’t know what’s happening,” another woman asked Grand Rapids police. “Nobody will talk to me.”

An eighth grader named Javeon Childrey had been shot in the face, near the ear. His mother told News 8 that the 13-year-old is doing OK as he continues to recover physically and mentally.

The shooting happened near a bathroom at the Alger Park splash pad next to the school building, after which Javeon ran back to the school for help. School security and police officers responded quickly. Police have described the shooting as “accidental.” Javeon’s mother previously told News 8 that the boy’s friend, another eighth grader, shot him — though she doesn’t think he meant to.

Grand Rapids Police Department Chief Eric Winstrom said this week that his officers are completing their investigation and will hand it over to the county prosecutor in the upcoming days.

“Parents are rightfully looking for answers. I think it’s s a very basic thing to want your child to be safe at school,” Winstrom told News 8. “And I hope by and large we’re able to do our part as a police department and I know GRPS feels the same way — to provide a safe environment for our kids.”

911 CALL: ‘HE’S SHOT’

The day after the shooting, News 8 requested security camera footage from Alger Middle School through the Freedom of Information Act. GRPS granted the open records request in part — if half of the $11,000 bill was paid upfront to cover the cost of school district personnel reviewing and exporting such footage.

Parent Lucas Leverett requested similar footage and was met with the same response and bill.

“That’s the loophole. That’s the sidestep that government is able to use for this very important law that we have that requires these disclosures,” Leverett said. “The only defense they have to keep secrecy is to shut out (people asking questions).”

While neither News 8 nor Leverett opted to pay the cost, Leverett did obtain 911 call recordings from that day through a separate FOIA request filed with GRPD.

“He shot. Yes, he’s shot. Please, please,” a woman can be heard reporting in one of those recordings from the first 911 call at 12:08 p.m.

“Ma’am, calm down,” the dispatcher said.

“Oh my God, he’s been shot. He looks bad,” the caller said.

A log of incoming and outgoing calls (PDF) to and from emergency responders that Leverett gave to News 8 indicates that the children were playing with the gun near the splash pad bathroom. The firearm was said to be in a trash can. There was blood found on a nearby SUV.

A call from Grand Rapids dispatch to the school at 12:11 p.m. — only a few minutes after the first 911 call came in — notified the person in the school’s office of the shooting.

“We just want to let you know and give you a chance if you need to follow the lockdown procedures. It sounds like there was a shooting just outside of the school,” the dispatcher said.

“OK, I’ll let you go. Thank you for making me aware,” the office attendant replied.

Leverett was alarmed by that exchange.

“How in the world could they not have understood that their kids were outside of school? And then when they responded, how come we’re listening to phone calls that indicate that they really hadn’t even gone into lockdown?” he asked.

The log shows the school’s public safety director was aware of the incident by 12:20 p.m. and the school was on lockdown.

The day of the shooting, GRPS Chief of Staff and Executive Director of Public Safety and School Security Larry Johnson stated and reiterated that the shooting happened off school property. A search of online county property records shows the school district owns the entire block that the school and park sit on. However, the district has an agreement with the city’s parks department that allows the public to utilize the green space. In return, the city maintains the grounds.

PARENT CRITICIZES LACK OF TRANSPARENCY

Leverett — whose son attends City High, not Alger Middle — told News 8 the shooting was indicative of a wider-reaching problem: a lack of transparency and security from GRPS.

“The reason the Alger event fires me up is that it’s officially as close as we can get to tragedy,” he said. “It doesn’t matter that it’s not my school, it’s not even my quadrant of the city. It’s one more piece of proof that this school system doesn’t have the right people having the right kinds of conversations and doing the right things to keep people safe.”

Since the shooting, Leverett said he and many concerned parents have been met with silence from the school district. Even during board meetings, he said, basic questions have not been answered.

“Every request I’ve had for more information as a citizen and as an interested parent and concerned individual … has been either met with silence or sidesteps,” he said. “Most people would have communicated by now: ‘Here’s what we know, here’s what we want to know, here’s what we’ll never be able to share if we do find it out; we’re doing our best.’ We don’t get that attitude from this group.”

News 8’s request for an interview with the GRPS security director Johnson or Superintendent Leadriane Roby was not granted, but Johnson did provide a statement in which he said GRPS added alarms to doors at Alger Middle following the shooting and that it was still considering when to use metal detectors there.

“Thanks to our dedicated staff and the safety protocols that we have in place, our schools remain among the safest places in our community for our children. To help ensure that our scholars remain in that safe environment, we have added alarms to exterior doors at Alger Middle School to notify staff when they are opened. Our Public Safety & School Security Department will also continue to work with school leaders to determine when to use metal detectors at building entrances. We strive every day to create places that support our scholars’ emotional, behavioral, mental, and physical health. We are looking forward to the start of school on August 19.”

Larry Johnson, GRPS chief of staff and executive director of public safety and school security

The next GRPS Board of Education special meeting is scheduled for July 22. Leverett said he and many other concerned parents will continue to ask the board for answers and transparency.

“Who was keeping track of these kids? Where did their parents think they were? Where did the school think they were?” Leverett wondered.

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