After a March 6 shooting left eight teenagers injured at a bus stop in the Burholme section of Northeast Philadelphia, the principal of the school all of the victims attend discussed the impact the incident has had on his student body.
On Wednesday morning, Omar Crowder, principal of Northeast High School, discussed how the school moved forward after eight students of his school were hurt when three armed teenagers burst from a car and fired on a crowd of students waiting for a bus at the intersection of of Cottman and Rising Sun avenues about two weeks ago.
"It's been a steady return to a semblance of normalcy," he said.
Crowder discussed ongoing safety strategies at the school -- including the district's Accelerate Philly five-year plan to expand safe paths, safety zones and upgrade surveillance at 150 schools -- and how violence continues to invade the lives of students.
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In discussing how the school is dealing with student safety -- as he said abut 46% of the school's 3,300 students rely on SEPTA every day -- Crowder said that the school is working with SEPTA officials and the Philadelphia Police Department to increase police presence in the area.
Crowder said the district's security teams are doing more work in and around the school, as well.
"We've stepped up patrols around here for sure," he said.
Students returned to the school last week, on a staggered schedule that brought about half the student body in for in-person learning while remaining students received lessons virtually. Crowder said this allowed school officials to provide more attention and support on the students at the school as they work to overcome the trauma involved in the shooting.
He also talked about how students in his school are coping in the wake of the recent shooting.
"Despite hurt and fear, our school community has continued to show up for each other," he said.
Asked how the injured students are recovering, Crowder said he has been in touch with families as only two students remain hospitalized following the March 6 incident.
"We are grateful all of them have survived," he said.
In a statement on the event, the district noted that, in the previous school year, nearly 200 Philadelphia public school students were shot -- including 33 who died.
This school year, the district noted, has seen 70 students shot, seven of which have died of their injuries.
On Tuesday, law enforcement officials apprehended 17-year-old Asir Boone, the fourth suspect sought in the incident that left eight Northeast High School students injured.
Previously, three others -- Ahnile Buggs, Jermahd Carter and Jamaal Tucker -- have been arrested for their alleged roles in the mass shooting.
NBC10 has not yet gotten comment from any attorneys representing those men.
Also, police are still investigating if the March 6 incident happened in retaliation for an earlier shooting at a bus stop in North Philadelphia that left a 17-year-old student of Imhotep Institute Charter High School dead.
According to court documents, Buggs may have hinted at a connection between these incidents in a recorded phone conversation with a Philadelphia prison inmate -- a man officials claim is Buggs' uncle.
The document states "based on the context of this phone call, it is believed that the two individuals on this call are discussing the March 2 homicide at 6200 Ogontz Ave."
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