Five students in the Hickman Mills School District have been fatally shot or injured by gunfire since 2016.
At least three students were shot and killed this year alone, including 9-year-old Dominic Young Jr. On Dec. 4, 16-year-old Marquise Ellinburg was found with gunshot wounds outside a home on Corrington Avenue. He later died at a hospital.
Violence has taken a serious toll on the Hickman Mills School District. But the trauma affects the entire community. School officials can only do so much to support students and their families. It takes a broad-based effort to deal with the far-reaching consequences of violent crime.
School district officials have implemented services to address trauma and conflict resolution in an effort to help students cope with the loss of a classmate or family member and prevent future violence.