Three girls, considered persons of interest, could face charges by week's end in a high school fight that left a Delaware teenager dead.
Wilmington Police Chief Bobby Cummings told a group at a meeting in the wake of Howard High School of Technology student Amy Joyner-Francis' death that he hoped to bring "closure" to the case, reported Delaware Online.
Joyner-Francis complained of head and chest pain after the fight with at least two other girls in the school's first-floor women's room. The 16-year-old lost consciousness, police said, before EMS arrived. A school resource officer performed CPR until medics got there. Joyner-Francis was flown to a nearby hospital where she died.
Some questions from concerned parents and the community remain unanswered after Joyner-Francis died following a fistfight in the girl's restroom Thursday morning.
"We did not want to rush to judgment," Cummings said. "We would rather take our time to conduct this investigation the proper way. Charges will be filed, and individuals will be held accountable for their actions." [[377009721, C]]
The medical examiner's report on the girl's death remained pending Tuesday.
Howard High School of Technology principal Stanley Spoor notified parents of meetings about the deadly incident in a recorded phone message Sunday. The school is breaking up the meetings in the school auditorium by grade, with meetings on Tuesday and Wednesday nights at 7 p.m. They will be for parents only, Spoor said.
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Students held several vigils for their friend and classmate who they described as a peacemaker and caring person. [[377043171, C]]
A small memorial service was held outside school Monday morning by students as they arrived for class. There were no classes Tuesday because of Election Day.
School officials have yet to decide when they would hold a school-wide memorial service for Joyner-Francis, Spoor said. [[376815281, C]]
Loved ones of Joyner-Francis are invited to offer condolences to her family on Sunday, May 1 between 5 and 8 p.m. at St. Paul AUME Church on 3114 N. Market Street in Wilmington. Family members say there will be no viewing during the event and all other services will be private.
