15-Year-Old Student Charged with Homicide in Pittsburgh School Shooting — Tragedy struck a Pittsburgh school on Wednesday morning when a 15-year-old student was fatally shot just outside the Oliver Citywide Academy. The suspect, also a 15-year-old student, was swiftly apprehended by authorities and now faces charges of homicide, possession of a firearm by a minor, and carrying a firearm without a license.
The victim, identified as Derrick Harris, was discovered by officers around 7:30 a.m. with multiple gunshot wounds near the front steps of the school. Despite being rushed to the hospital, Harris succumbed to his injuries. A gunshot detection system revealed that 11 rounds had been fired during the incident. The motive behind the shooting remains unknown at this time.
The alleged shooter, identified as Jaymier Perry in a court docket and Jamier Perry in a police statement, was seen fleeing the school premises with a gun. However, quick action by law enforcement led to his arrest and the recovery of the weapon. Perry is currently being held at the county jail, and court records do not yet indicate the presence of a defense attorney.
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Oliver Citywide Academy, a full-time special education center catering to grades 3-12, was in the midst of its morning routine when the shooting occurred. Most students were en route to the school, and buses were rerouted to another facility. Students who had already arrived were kept inside the building, and classes for the day were subsequently canceled.
“We believe, based on the information that we have and the video we’ve been able to see, that we have the actor in custody and there’s no potential threat to the other schools,” stated Major Crimes Commander Richard Ford.
The incident marks a grim start for newly appointed police chief Larry Scirotto, who condemned the violence and expressed determination to ensure the safety of students. “The tragedies cannot continue unchecked,” Chief Scirotto emphasized during an interview. He promised concerned parents that his administration would work tirelessly to prevent their children from falling victim to gun violence at school.
Mayor Ed Gainey echoed these sentiments, vowing to provide support for the students affected by the shooting and their families. Gainey emphasized that no child should live in fear of attending school, and no parent should endure the heart-wrenching worry of their child not returning home.
“We have cultivated a culture of violence and death, celebrated guns, and glorified shooting,” Mayor Gainey stated. “We have to cultivate a new culture, create a new path forward for our kids.”
The shooting at Oliver Citywide Academy bears a haunting resemblance to another tragedy that occurred just over a year ago. In January 2022, 15-year-old Marquis Campbell was shot and killed while sitting in a school van, waiting to go home. Two brothers, whom Campbell knew from a different school, were subsequently charged with murder and conspiracy earlier this year.
Coincidentally, this shooting in Pittsburgh transpired exactly one year after the devastating incident in Uvalde, Texas, where 19 students and two teachers lost their lives in an elementary school shooting. These tragic events serve as painful reminders of the ongoing need for comprehensive measures to prevent such violence within educational institutions and the broader society.
