On October 29th at around 7a.m., violence broke out in the hallways of David W. Butler High School. At this school in Matthews, N.C., many students had gathered to watch a fight between Jatwan Craig Cuffie, 16, a ninth grade, and Bobby McKeithen, 16, a sophomore. No student or staff had yet intervened, and the fight quickly escalated as Cuffie shot McKeithen with a gun.
Chaos quickly followed as students near exits quickly evacuated the school trying to get as far away as possible. Although many students were picked up by parents after the lockdown, class continued for students who did not yet have a ride home. Police surrounded the school and Cuffie was arrested and charged with first degree murder.
Mckeithan was immediately sent to Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte, where he died shortly after. North Carolina’s governor Roy Cooper is planning to strengthen gun control in schools. “I am heartbroken to hear about today’s school violence… it is critical that we come together to do everything in our power to prevent these incidents from happening and keep guns out of our schools,” Cooper said. Superintendent Mr. Wilcox is also planning to work on defeating the gun violence epidemic.
