Missouriland

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MISSOURILAND

A Time for Mourning

Hundreds gathered at Central Visual and Performing Arts High School to remember lives lost in a mass shooting

Photos by THEO WELLING

Words by ROSALIND EARLY

Hundreds gathered outside of Central Visual and Performing Arts High School last Wednesday to mourn victims of a school shooting there last week. Two victims, a teacher and a student, died and many more were injured.

At the candlelight vigil, people released balloons and doves in remembrance of sophomore Alexzandria Bell and health teacher Jean Kuczka, the two victims who died. A third fatality was the gunman, identified by police as Orlando Harris, a 2021 Central Visual and Performing Arts graduate.

Relatives of the two victims spoke at the vigil, and many people broke down into tears.

The south St. Louis high school shares a campus with Collegiate School of Medicine and Bioscience.

The school is closed for the foreseeable future and classes, which will be held online, have been delayed another week as the community grieves. n

A CELEBRATION OF THE UNIQUE AND FASCINATING ASPECTS OF OUR HOME[ ]