Detroit Public Schools (DPS) and two school security officers are being sued by the parents of four students who were wounded in a 2008 shooting at Ford High School. One of the students died from the incident.
The lawsuit says that the school district and the officers should have done more to prevent the shooting from happening, according to Freep.com. Additionally, the parents are suing the three men charged in the incident.
The plaintiffs, Bridget Walker, whose 16-year-old son Christopher was killed; Kenota Slater, mother of Malik Slater; Carol Merriweather, mother of Leon Merriweather and Leon Merriweather and Liz McCants, mother of Kejuana McCants, believe the school should have suspended or expelled the three suspects to prevent the incident from happening.
Prior to the Oct. 16, 2008 shooting, a fight occurred at the school earlier in the day. A lawyer for the plaintiffs said one of the security officers watched the initial fight on video, while the other broke up the scuffle. However, neither took the steps to suspend or expel the troublemakers.
After school that day, police said William Morton, Derryck Brantley and Devon Bell rode up in a black SUV and started shooting at Christopher Walker, as other students walked nearby. The shooting occurred a block away from the school.
For her part, Bridget Walker says that when the initial fight at the school took place, no one from Ford High School contacted her. The lawyer for the plaintiffs said students complained about there being a history of violence at the school and failure of school officials to stop it after the shooting.
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