The aftermath of the Oct. 24, 2002 school shooting at Central Visual Performing Arts High School includes ongoing healing but the grieving also continues.
“It’s almost like getting news that your home got shot up and you weren’t there, that’s how I feel,” – Lauryn Brown, a 2017 CVPA graduate.
A public viewing and funeral service for 15-year-old Alexzandria Bell will be held on Saturday, Nov. 5, 2022, at Faith Church in Earth City, Missouri.
Bell was shot and killed on Monday Oct. 24, 2022, at Central Visual and Performing Arts High School in St. Louis. Health and physical education teacher Jean Kuczka, 61, also was shot and killed.
The public viewing is from 8 to 10 a.m., and Bell’s funeral service follows. She will be interred at Friedens Cemetery in Bellefontaine Neighbors. Pastors David and Nicole Crank are hosts.
“The thought that I won’t be able to send her off to prom, I won’t see her walk the stage to grab her diploma at graduation, I won’t watch her pick a college, I won’t see her smile again and I’ll never hear her beautiful laugh and voice again will never settle with me,” Destiny Diamond wrote in a Facebook post.
Diamond called Bell her “sweet little cousin.”
Faith Church is located at 3590 Rider Trail South, Earth City, 63045. Friedens Cemetery is at 8941 N. Broadway, St. Louis, 63137.
Kuczka was honored on Sunday night at Kutis Funeral Home in Affton. On Monday, a lengthy funeral procession traveled from the funeral home to the Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis where her funeral was held.
CVPA alumni members organized a candlelight vigil on Friday, Oct. 28 at the campus to honor Bell, Kuczka, and those injured by a 19-year-old gunman who was killed in the school by police.
Lauryn Brown is a 2017 CVPA graduate.
“It’s almost like getting news that your home got shot up and you weren’t there, that’s how I feel,” Brown said.
Branden Lewis, a 2017 CVPA alum said the school has always been full of love, despite the tragedy that struck the school on Oct. 24.
“Central is a place that’s full of love, you come to Central and get loved on,” Lewis said. “If a place full of so much love can still be the victim of someone who feels like no one loves them, then maybe a lack of love ain’t the problem.”
While he didn’t know the suspect well and doesn’t justify what he did, Lewis said he feels for the people close to him, especially his parents.
“I feel for people that were close to him, the fact that they have to live with [this.] I was close to this guy and I didn’t see this coming,” Lewis said. “I also feel for his parents because the shame he brought on himself he pretty much brought on his family.”
Alumni member Aleshia Jones says that she is feeling torn by Monday’s tragedy. Her younger sister knew the late assailant and described him “as a very quiet kid, who had some friends but preferred to be alone.”
Angelo Smiley, a CVPA graduate said, “I’m upset, I feel like this was our sanctuary and now it’s corrupted.”
The former students were gathered in a huddle that night in front of a memorial. They shared stories of their former years at the school. They spoke of finding ways to be there for the current students while keeping the positive legacy of CVPA alive.
Smiley described his school as a place where he and other students could be themselves, calling it a place of acceptance and diversity.
Christian Schulte says that CVPA is like one big family.
The teachers are very supportive, many of them are like [students’] parents and grandparents. They helped them academically but also went the extra mile and helped them find jobs or supported them in areas concerning family issues, “It’s just heartbreaking,” he said.
To help cope with the tragedy, former students have created a group chat, to come up with ideas on how they can support the students of their alma mater.
Once in-person learning is available, which will not begin for at least another full week according to SLPS, they plan on going back to the school to mentor and talk with the students to let them know they are here for them.
“It’s the small things that count,” said Jones.
Jones says former students are uploading pictures from over the years when they attended the school. She doesn’t want people to forget the good times they had there. She hopes this event doesn’t deter other students from wanting to go to CVPA. Jones says her high school “is such a beautiful and awesome place.”
Brown says the aftermath of the shooting has left her feeling emotionally drained because the school is her second home. She said it hurts to know the tragedy happened because she appreciates the love and support shown since the incident from alumni, current students, teachers, and former faculty.
“To see us come together as one and be there for each other [whether I knew you or not, still give me a hug], shows the greatness of the foundation CVPA has built,” Brown said.
Jessica Hrdlicka, a former math teacher at CVPA, often talked to Kuczka during her time at the school six years ago. She was relieved when she first found out there were no injuries, but when the news changed and she learned Kuczka died, she said she was devastated.
“I just started crying, the tears wouldn’t stop,” Hrdlicka said.
“Although I wasn’t here when the shooting happened my heart is breaking. It’s very hard to know that my former coworkers are going through something that is unimaginable.”
Schulte says that they are going to stick together and be there for one another and most importantly get gun control in America so that this never happens again. He is hoping that the state of Missouri follows in the footsteps of Illinois and adopts the red flag law so that guns won’t end up in the wrong hands.
Community event on Nov. 3
St. Louis Public Radio is organizing a community event to bring us all under the same roof and connect residents with local experts and organizations that specialize in helping people navigate trauma and grief.
The event will take place at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 3 at the St. Louis Public Library-Carpenter Library on South Grand Boulevard.
The program will begin with a Q&A session where parents and children can ask local experts about trauma symptoms to look for in themselves or loved ones in the weeks and months ahead and for other insights about the grieving process. Dr. Marva Robinson of the St. Louis Association of Black Psychologists, and Dr. Matthew Kliethermes, training director at Children’s Advocacy Services of Greater St. Louis, will lead the session.
