Suitland High School students are returning to the classroom one day after shots were fired on campus, hospitalizing one 14-year-old in and prompting police to take another ninth-grade student into custody.
Buses could be seen rolling into the school parking lot in Forestville, Maryland, not quite 24 hours after the shooting.
Cell phone video circulated on social media and shared with News4 shows the fight between students that took place on the football field while they were between classes. The gunshots that ended the conflict, and hospitalized that one student in stable condition, can be heard in the video.
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Parents say they're not surprised by the shooting.
"I wasn't surprised, because it's not the first time they've gone into lockdown," said Gwen Dixon, whose daughter is a junior at the school. Dixon and other parents have been waiting for additional safety policies to be implemented at the school.
"Clear backpacks, I went and bought her one, they haven't enforced it," she said. "They're supposed to have ID cards, they haven't gotten those."
On Thursday, as the school stayed in lockdown for hours after the shooting took place, desperate and worried parents waited outside to get their children. Some expressed frustration at the lack of information.
"'Get her,' that's all that went through my mind," said one dad, near tears. "Just 'get to my baby.'"
Mom Christina Suggs cried tears of relief as she walked her daughter out of the school building.
"It was terrifying," Suggs told News4, arms wrapped around her daughter. "I couldn't breathe, because all I wanted to do was just get my hands on my kid. Now I'm okay."
Suggs' daughter had strong words about Suitland High in the wake of the shooting.
"This school is very horrible," she told News4. "Y'all supposed to, basically, protect kids, and y'all not doing a darn thing. Y'all not protecting us, at all."
Some parents, not ready to go on camera on Friday, told News4 it didn't feel right for students to return to the classroom yet, with emotions still raw.
"I just think we needed more time. I think we all needed time to recover. It was a traumatic experience."
News4 reached out to Prince George’s County Public Schools to discuss security concerns in an on-camera interview. PGCPS shared a written statement:
"There will be a heightened police presence over the next few days as the investigation continues. Additionally, mental health support will be available for students and staff."
Prince George's County police were back at the campus on Friday -- a sight some parents believe is necessary, given Thursday's shooting.
"For the rest of the time, they need more cops here," said one mom. "Too much happens at this school."
In the aftermath of the shooting, parents hope to ensure their children are safe as they work to get their education.
"I'm hoping they change," Dixon said. "I feel okay with her, you know, but she has some anxiety and stuff because she's in the middle of what's going on here. But I'm dealing with it."
The shooting is still under investigation, and at a news conference yesterday Prince George’s County state’s attorney Aisha Braveboy said that those involved in the incident will be held accountable.
The victim and shooter have not been identified.
