In the wake of a tragic and deadly school shooting at Central Visual and Performing Arts High School in south St. Louis that left three dead including the gunman, the St. Louis Public Schools Foundation has established a fund to assist SLPS families with recovery. All proceeds will go toward families of students at Central VPA and the school co-located in the same building, Collegiate School of Medicine and Bioscience.
Police say that at 9:11 a.m. Monday, they received a 911 call about an active shooter at Central VPA. Authorities arrived on the scene four minutes later, at 9:15, engaged with the shooter, who police identified as 19-year-old former Central VPA student Orlando Harris, and secured the scene.
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Fifteen-year-old student Alexzandria Bell and 61-year-old teacher Jean Kuczka were also killed. Six others were hospitalized.
Since then, support has poured out from the St. Louis community, from candlelight vigils to St. Louis Blues players wearing a decal of the school’s logo on their helmet.
GoFundMe fundraisers have launched to help Bell’s family with funeral costs and to support at least one student’s recovery. St. Louisans are also donating money to fight Type 1 diabetes in honor of Kuczka, a cause close to the educator’s heart.
According to the SLPS Foundation, any amount of money donated that exceeds the school family’s immediate needs will go toward supporting general health and wellness programming throughout the SLPS district.
To donate, see the online form here.
