Most students stay home the day after shooting at a Greenville County middle school

About 65 of the 800 students enrolled in Tanglewood Middle School showed up for a non-mandatory school day Friday after a student was shot and killed the day before.

Molly Spearman, the state superintendent of education, visited the school Friday. Earlier, she tweeted, “As a mother, my heart is broken for this family. On behalf of the SC education community, we offer our support and prayers to the students, families and entire Greenville County School District.”

Jamari Cortez Bonaparte Jackson, 12, was shot in the chest at 12:20 p.m. Thursday and pronounced dead at Prisma Health Greenville Memorial Hospital about an hour later.

A 12-year-old fellow student has been charged with murder and other weapons violations. The suspect is not being named due to his age.

The Jackson family released a statement Thursday asking for privacy and added, “We are all devastated by today’s tragedy. We love Jamari dearly.”

Meanwhile, some community leaders have called for metal detectors to be installed in the school system.

School spokesman Tim Waller said on hand at the school Friday were counselors from Greenville Mental Health, school district social workers and law enforcement to provide comfort to anyone who needed it.

He described the scene as “a lot of positive energy under the circumstances.”

“People are really bonding,” Waller said.

This story was originally published April 1, 2022 at 2:17 PM.