A very unfortunate incident happened at the 200 block of Center Dean Avenue. A 16-year-old Havre de Grace High School ninth-grader shot his classmate Jai’den Alexander Winchester who succumbed to the shot on the spot. The 14-year-old was shot in the head and suffered a cardiac arrest before being pronounced dead just before midnight on Saturday. 

According to an update by Aberdeen Police Department on Facebook on November 3, the shooter has “been arrested and is currently being processed as an adult” for the murder of Winchester, who is listed on the athletic website as a junior varsity football player. As per the update, “He is being charged with 1st and 2nd degree Murder, 1st degree As-ault, Reckless Endangerment, and various firearms offenses.” The grim reality of the situation is that “detectives have found no evidence to indicate that this was an accidental shooting.”

Havre de Grace High School principal Brad Spence expressed his condolences to Winchester’s family on Sunday. He wrote, “The Havre de Grace Middle/High community is saddened to share the passing of Jai’den Winchester. We are deeply saddened at the loss of Jai’den and will always remember him as a friend and Warrior forever. We will focus our concern on the well-being of our Warrior family as we cope with this tragic loss.”

Fatal “gut-wrenching” incidents like this expose the nation’s vulnerability to inhuman actions. As Aberdeen Police Sgt. Jason Neidig said, “It’s sad that we have juveniles running around our country, not just in Aberdeen, it’s all over the country, that we have juveniles running around with weapons and feel the need to use those weapons.” This is a truly hard time for the family of the victim to lose a son and brother in such a heartbreaking manner. We hope justice is done to him!

More high school football tragedy

What’s heartbreaking is that shooting incidents have become more common than ever. Just a few days ago, a similar shooting incident occurred in Tennessee. Two 16-year-old high school students were shot in a drive-by shooting that occurred on Wednesday around 7:30 PM in the Northcrest subdivision in Ripley. One of them received a fatal shot and died while the other was shot in the leg. 

The poor teen who died was Demarcus Barnes who was listed as Ripley High School senior and varsity football player. Following the grim incident, the school’s athletic department posted on social media, “Some things are unexpected and can’t be explained.” It’s saddening to know how an action of an unstable person affects many people with a void that can’t be filled. And the scariest part is that it could be anyone of us.