Baltimore schools honor four students killed by gun violence this year
Baltimore schools paused to name four students lost to gunfire, turning grief into a call for action as families and leaders faced a still-open wound.
Baltimore City Public Schools turned Friday’s Peace and Remembrance ceremony into a public act of mourning for four students killed by gun violence this school year, filling the district office on North Avenue with families, classmates and city leaders determined to keep the children’s names from being reduced to statistics.
CEO Sonja Santelises opened the ceremony by reading the name of Michael Hitchens III, a 14-year-old student at the Children’s Guild School of Baltimore. Police said Michael was shot around 3 p.m. on Dec. 13, 2025, in the 2500 block of Washington Boulevard in Morrell Park. In March, Baltimore Police and Metro Crime Stoppers announced up to an $8,000 reward for information leading to an arrest in his killing, a reminder that the case remains active even as the school system gathered to grieve.
The district also honored Ty’onna Pierce, a 15-year-old Digital Harbor High School student killed in West Baltimore in February; Jaythan Day, a 16-year-old Mergenthaler Vocational-Technical High School student killed in Northwest Baltimore in March; and Breontae Mosley, a 17-year-old Briscoe Academy student killed in Lansdowne just three days before the ceremony. Jaidan Whitaker, a student spoken word artist, delivered a reflection that centered hope and the idea of carrying light forward through darkness, while the ceremony kept each student’s personality and humanity in view.
Jaythan’s father, Dennis Day, said his son would give away anything if asked. Santelises said Ty’onna’s brightness could not be missed. Mayor Brandon Scott attended and pressed the city to honor the students’ legacies with action, not just words, so that other young people and families would not face the same pain.
The memorial landed in a city that has seen violence ease overall but still loses children and teens. The Baltimore Police Department said homicides fell 23% in 2024, to 201 from 261, and non-fatal shootings dropped 34%, to 414 from 635. Scott said Baltimore had recorded 28 homicides and 61 non-fatal shootings through April 1, 2026, compared with 32 homicides and 66 non-fatal shootings at the same point in 2025.
Baltimore City Public Schools has held Peace and Remembrance Day events before, including a May 23, 2024 gathering, and in 2025 the district honored six students killed by gun violence during the previous year. Friday’s ceremony showed how schools in Baltimore are asked to do more than educate. They are also forced to hold the city’s grief, while families wait for justice and for a system strong enough to prevent the next name from being read.
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