The Long Beach Unified School District (LBUSD) has released a statement regarding the death of 16-year old Melody Ross, an honor student and pole vaulter at Wilson High who was an innocent bystander in a large crowd that gathered outside of the school following the football game between Wilson and Poly. Ross was pronounced dead at a local hospital. Two others were injured, males aged 18 and 20 who police say were students of neither school. Gunfire erupted as a large crowd gathered at the Ximeno exit to the football field, where a fight broke out and witnesses reported hearing four shots and seeing Ross being tended to on the ground. Our deepest sympathies to the Ross family.
Following is the statement from the LBUSD:
Victim in Fatal Shooting Was Wilson High Student
“The 16-year-old girl who died last night after a shooting outside Wilson Classical High School in Long Beach was an eleventh grade student and athlete at the school. The victim, Melody Ross, was well-liked by her peers. She was enrolled in Advanced Placement honors courses and was a member of the track team.
The Long Beach Unified School District extends its deepest sympathies to Melody’s family, friends and teachers.
According to police, at about 9:30 p.m. last night a football game at Wilson High had just ended, and a group of several hundred people were congregating in the area of Ximeno Avenue and 10th Street. At about 10 p.m., Long Beach police officers responded to a shooting that had just occurred in the area of 10th Street and Ximeno Avenue.
When officers arrived they found that three victims had been shot. An 18-year-old man and a 20-year-old man sustained non-life threatening injuries. All three victims were transported to the hospital where Melody succumbed to her injuries.
Because the police investigation is ongoing, the school district is directing media to police regarding further details about this crime.
The school on Monday will provide counselors in each of the classes that Melody enrolled in. Counselors and psychologists also will be available throughout the day in the school’s career center for any student who needs to talk about the incident.
Because the highly anticipated Wilson vs. Polytechnic High School football game was sold out, the school district provided extra security at Wilson on Friday evening, including three school safety officers from LBUSD School Safety, along with 19 campus security officers drawn from various other schools in the district, as well as 10 administrators and 15 teachers and other employees to provide additional adult supervision. The incident did not occur on campus but just outside the school.
The school district will provide additional security at Wilson on Monday.”
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Related Coverage:
Search For Wilson High Shooter Continues
Friday Night Shootings: One At Wilson High, One Officer-Involved