By Petula Dvorak and Justin Blum
Washington Post Staff Writers
Wednesday, April 26, 2000; Page A01
At six schools across the District yesterday, the measured voice of a school official brought students the news that violence had befallen one of their own in a place often depicted in their books as safe, fun and friendly--the zoo.
Some students were shaken by the news. Some, the veterans who have been to the funerals as well as the school fairs, shrugged their shoulders, numb to the routine.
But overwhelmingly, whether they were friends of the victim known as "Pappy," whether they played hoops with the one called "Casper," or whether they had never heard of any of the victims, the shooting shook District students' sense of security.
"When you think about the zoo, you're not thinking guns and blood," said Steven Ferrell, a ninth-grader at Hine Junior High who listened to The Announcement over the intercom during seventh period.
Since the school year began, at least 17 students at D.C. public schools have been killed. Many were older than the students shot Monday.
"Some kids were saying that we're not safe in school if we're not safe at the zoo," said Danielle Dailey, 13, a student at Hine. "I thought maybe we could all be safe with a lot of people around--until this happened."
Over at Jefferson Junior High, students had heard The Announcement about their schoolmate Derek Washington and his wound.
"Derek just got shot in the leg--it was nothing," said a girl under a multicolored umbrella, before dashing off to catch up with her friends.
"This is not the worst thing to happen at this school," said one eighth-grader. "The Wilson students, you know the couple killed? They went to this school. And Rowland [Ford], the kid killed at Halloween? He went here."
The Jefferson principal gathered students in an assembly and detailed the shooting, depicting Washington, 16, as a hero hit while trying to push a girl out of the line of fire, students said.
A group of students said a gang of troublemakers had marred the day. "I was at the zoo and it wasn't so bad. Everyone was really happy, and it was quiet until about 4 o'clock," one eighth-grader said. "Then it was the gangs. It was Trinidad and Mayfair, and they fight when they cross turf or give each other looks or whatever."
Over at Spingarn Senior High, students agreed that their schoolmate Raynard A. Dugger, 14, was just a victim.
"He's funny and nice to be around," said Vontia Nelson, 16, standing in the rain outside the school. "He isn't a troublemaker at all. I don't think he's the kind of person to be in a gang."
Throughout the day, Raynard's story echoed off lockers and bathroom stalls.
"He's a short, small guy. We call him Little Raynard," said Nelson, adding that students also call him "Casper" because of his light complexion.
"He's a good guy, a friend. We talk a lot in school," said Dominic Giorgis, 16. "He doesn't get in trouble. He's a good guy. We're waiting on him to come back."
Spingarn's principal, Robert T. Graves, said teachers and grief counselors met with students, assuring them that their friend is recuperating from a leg wound.
"I spoke to him two times," Graves said. "I said, 'You know we miss you.' He laughed and said, 'I hope to be with you in a few days.' "
Graves called Raynard a "great student, well-liked." He said he also talked to Raynard's parents.
At Houston Elementary School, the mood was grim; a schoolmate was the youngest victim of Monday's gunfire. Students arrived for classes and heard The Announcement: Harris Bates, 11, had been seriously injured. A team of crisis counselors had been brought to the school to talk to students to ease their fears.
Tyrell Durbin, 14, who attends school at nearby Ronald H. Brown Middle School, said that he is good friends with Harris and that he burst into tears after learning of the shooting.
"I started crying and whatnot," the seventh-grader said. "It wasn't right. He never hurt nobody. He was nice."
Houston Principal Dene T. Pendleton sent home a letter to parents saying that Harris, a fifth-grader, had been "critically injured by gunfire while at the zoo."
The letter warned that students might experience sadness and sleeplessness and might be very fearful of being shot themselves.
Several students said that the counseling team had helped but that they could not get the shooting off their minds. Friends called Harris by the nickname "Pappy," they said, as a way to poke fun at his potbelly.
"I think it's sad," said an 11-year-old girl who attends sixth grade at the school. "He's a nice boy--nice and funny."
She said Harris played basketball during recess and had a crush on a girl at the school. She said counselors told students "not to worry about it. Just pray for him."
Tyrell's mother, Sebrena Durbin, said Harris has always been polite and respectful. She said she told her son about the shooting on Monday night.
"I'm real hurt about what happened because of the young kids with the guns," she said. "There's some kind of rivalry thing going on with the neighborhoods. I really didn't know it was that bad. My mother said this rivalry had been going on since she was young. She's about 50. . . . Deanwood and Kenilworth is the rivalry and it's always been. Every time there is some kind of event going on, if those two are in the area and if someone is out of place, then something will happen, something goes on."
© 2000 The Washington Post Company
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