Friends remember Warren Curtis Grant as a helping hand with an infectious smile.
At least 100 people, most of them young, gathered Sunday evening in Edgewood to remember the 15-year-old, who was fatally shot Friday during a fight at Joppatowne High School.
Through tears, attendees released blue balloons for his favorite color. Some wore shirts that said, “Gone too soon,” as they embraced on the neighborhood basketball court where Grant spent many afternoons.
“He was chill and laid-back and he did not bother nobody,” classmate Natalia Hardy said after the vigil. “He loved basketball. I grew up with him.”
Several people spoke during the vigil and many were crying. Their sentiments were unified. A woman stepped forward and urged the gathered young people to go to school and be successful because that’s what Grant would have wanted everyone to do.
“He kept my son out of trouble. He loved my family, and we love him. We will never forget him. He’s the last person I would ever expect this to happen to,” Viateria Lyons said after the vigil, noting that her son and Grant were close friends.
The vigil came as Harford County Public Schools decided to close five of its schools for part of the week in response to the shooting and offer counseling services for students.
Joppatowne High will be closed Monday to Wednesday, with the school district saying: “It is our intention to have students return on Thursday.”
The nearby Magnolia Elementary, Magnolia Middle, Joppatowne Elementary and Riverside elementary schools will be closed Monday. Before- and after-school care and activities are canceled at each of the schools but will resume when students return, the system said.
Parents were informed of the closures Saturday evening with Harford County Public Schools writing that “the tragic events of Friday have taken an emotional toll on this community and there is a need for time and space to heal.”
On Sunday evening, HCPS said on its website that school counselors, school psychologists, social workers or other supporting central office staff would be available for students at three locations in Edgewood starting at 10 a.m. Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday until midafternoon: Windsor Valley Community Center, 570 Meadowood Drive; Edgewood Boys and Girls Club, 2002 Cedar Drive; and Edgewood EPI Center, 1918 Pulaski Highway.
The shooting occurred during a fight between two students in a first-floor bathroom at the high school. The 16-year-old suspect allegedly drew a handgun and shot Grant in the chest. Grant was airlifted to an area hospital, where he later died.
Police said the suspect fled school grounds but was later reported to the police for allegedly attempting to break into a house. Responding officers apprehended the suspect.
The suspect is being charged as an adult with murder, first- and second-degree assault, and the use of a firearm in the commission of a felony/crime of violence. He is being held in the Harford County Detention Center, awaiting an initial appearance before a judicial officer.
The Harford County Sheriff’s Office said it believes the suspect and victim knew each other and that there isn’t an outstanding suspect or threat to the community.
Dion Guthrie, the councilman for District A, which includes the school, said he plans to evaluate options to improve school safety across the county, but aside from the potential cost of something like metal detectors, he said there are a lot of logistics involved as well.
“Say you put in metal detectors, you have numerous entrances at each school and over 50 schools in the county,” Guthrie said. “Figuring that out and how to pay for it is a lot, so I am looking into all the options we have available.”
Sitting at his home in Joppatowne, as the helicopter carrying Grant flew above the school Friday, Guthrie reflected to when his kids, now adults, were students at Joppatowne High, he said Sunday.
“I think back to when they were there, and sure, things could have happened, but it just seems these things have been happening more frequently across the country,” Guthrie said. “It is certainly a difficult time for everyone, and my thoughts are with the family, the school and the community.”
On Sunday morning, the high school campus was quiet, but a handful of visitors stopped by to pay respects. Some people have left flowers or other tributes. A police car was stationed at the school and moved to different locations around the area about every 20 minutes.
After the vigil, Lyons lamented a lack of spaces in Edgewood for teenagers.
“There is nothing in Edgewood for the kids. There is no programs. There is no nothing. What is there for them to do?” Lyons said. “All we have is empty buildings. What is there for the kids? Where is the boys and girls club out here? Go to Bel Air, go to Fallston go to Aberdeen, there are things for kids to do. Where can kids in Edgewood go and talk and hang out and get a positive message from somebody?
A Facebook post from the Harford County Sheriff’s Office announcing the arrest had drawn more than 530 comments as of Sunday afternoon, with many providing words of sympathy and concerns surrounding gun control and school safety.
“Two lives ended yesterday when they had just barely started. Violence is never the way,” one reads.
Many commenters said they feel the school system should install metal detectors, while others said the solution is responsible gun ownership.
Students from the high school as well as Magnolia, Joppatowne and Riverside elementary schools and Magnolia Middle can pick up bagged lunches at Magnolia Middle and Mariner Point Park, between noon and 1 p.m. Monday, the Harford County Public Schools said Sunday evening. On Tuesday, Joppatowne High students can pick up two-day meal kits at the high school and the Windsor Valley Community Center between noon and 1 p.m.
If a Joppatowne High student needs to collect personal belongings before returning to school Thursday, a school safety liaison will be available to escort them at noon Monday.
Baltimore Sun photographer Lloyd Fox contributed to this article.
