PINE BLUFF, Ark — One day after a 15-year-old was shot inside the school, Watson Chapel Jr. High parents and district students say the response from school leaders doesn't account for the emotional trauma students, teachers, and parents now face.
Classes were back in session virtually Tuesday after the shooting.
One parent said his daughter left her Chromebook that she'd normally use for virtual classes at the school. He said she witnessed the shooting of her classmate and took off running, leaving behind her laptop computer.
Tonya Spicer said she's still shocked one day later. She received a phone call from her daughter from inside the school around 10 a.m. Monday. She said her daughter was out of breath from running and panicked when she learned there was a shooting.
"I had to park at a gas station and walk up to the school because there were so many cars. I overhead school officials saying they were not going to release our babies to us until the suspect had been apprehended," said Spicer.
Her son also attends Watson Chapel Jr. High.
She couldn't get ahold of him Monday morning.
"My son has been really quiet. Kind of scared. He didn't sleep good last night, I didn't sleep good last night cause I kept checking on him. He says every time his phone rings, his heart starts beating fast cause he's afraid he's going to get bad news about his friend," said Spicer.
She understands school must go on, but feels the school should give students an extended amount of time for assignments.
Lakeyshia Battles heard from her daughter before she heard from the school. She said the school should have canceled classes for Tuesday, virtual or not.
"The students and the teachers need the time to think about what happened yesterday and really let it soak in. Parents need time to talk to their kids about what happened," said Battles.
Shekinah Meadows is a 10th grader at Watson Chapel High School.
In a long Facebook post, she calls out how the district has treated the victim's mother. The 15 year old's mom posted how the school blocked her on social media and hasn't communicated or reached out after her son was shot.
Meadows also posted about how the district essentially neglects how the shooting affects students at other schools.
"Has anybody thought about how the students at the high school feel about the situation? I agree with them going virtual for today, but I feel like it should be longer because, like I said, it's literally kids telling me they don't feel safe going back tomorrow," said Meadows.
The district announced Tuesday afternoon that they will continue with virtual learning Wednesday, but will go back on site Thursday.
Meadows said there's different ways the district could have handled the shooting.
"I feel like I needed to make that post because a lot of times when stuff happens to kids, they think that, oh we're just kids we'll get over it at some point, but something like this shouldn't be taken lightly," Meadows said.