Crofton holds vigil for fallen boy

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community violence - 2009-06-09 21:13:12

Unfortunately, because I deal with multi-racial situations, I know that when teens fight, it can be difficult on the community when it is between different races. The bottom line is, _people get hurt_, and all the lies and anger will not being them back again. They did not live their lives with racial bias, and you should not desecrate their memory with yours.

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christopher l. - annapolis, md - Karma: Neutral

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DO SOMETHING - 2009-06-08 16:13:02

People need to come together and find solutions to this gang activity. The racial comments on this board are beyond ignorant. Many of you could care less about the killings going on in Maryland and guess what, the NAACP that you all have been trashing? They are VERY involved in assisting the Black community. Like I said before, why don't you make this fuss when another kid dies not just one who you thinks doesn't 'deserve' it. If you want to help, then start a damn neighborhood group or something to combat the problem. Nevermind voicing your racist rhetoric on a message board. GET OUT and DO SOMETHING. I already have so don't post to me asking..

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s. Jones - Baltimore, MD - Karma: Bad

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Kellie - 2009-06-08 06:34:33

It's a mug shot from this arrest

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Johnathan Locke - Edgewater, MD - Karma: Good

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Wow, big difference in those faces - 2009-06-07 21:55:42

Um...is that Javel's mug shot or class picture. Looks to me like he was always tryin to look hard...even if it was for the yearbook.

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Kellie D. - Crofton, md - Karma: Neutral

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Manslaughter ??? - 2009-06-06 08:58:17

How can the DA charge this 16 year old thug with only manslaughter, assault and reckless endangerment ??? This was at the least, 2nd degree murder (second degree murder n. a non-premeditated killing, resulting from an assault in which death of the victim was a distinct possibility.) ! Why is the DA not doing HIS job and calling the crime what it really is, a second degree murder ???

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Dan C. - North Beach, MD - Karma: Neutral

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response - 2009-06-05 15:31:10

In response to some comments by the mental midget brigade:

1. "Chris should have worn a bike helmut, he would be alive today."
REPLY - Chris should have exercised his second amendent rights and had a gun. He would be alive and several oxygen thieves would be gone. Plus in three weeks Jessie and Al would host a nifty parade that would provide cash to local merchants for snacks and drinks. Obama may have sent the acornnuts to march which would have provided more county income in hotel and bus rentals and gas sales, your tax dollars at work!

2. Disgrace at all the Sherrif vehicles on the parkway for Chris' memberance.

REPLY - Chris' father is a PG County Sherrif, his friends and coworkers came out in support, perhaps that is a concept some of you fail to grasp.

No one is supprised thaf Anne Arundel is te PG County of ten years ago. I lived in PG County, and in two will beat feet out of AA County, guess I will move to Chicago... LOL!

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s. eidewha - , - Karma: Bad

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Arundel High School - 2009-06-05 11:10:27

As a family we are tired of hearing what Arundel High School did not do for Christopher Jones. This undue criticism of Arundel High School is unwarranted. Arundel High School is and was prior to this tragic incident actively enforcing Anne Arundel County Public School System rules and regulations set forth to quell bullying and gang issues. It is simply ridiculous to expect a school whether it be Arundel or South River (where Christopher was enrolled) to be responsible for a students behavior outside of school let alone on a Saturday afternoon! A school is not nor should it take on the roles and responsibilities of a parent. Children are supposed to learn values and morals in the home from their parents. While this incident is tragic on so many levels one thing is very, very clear; Arundel Senior High School did not contribute to nor cause the death of Christopher Jones! We stand behind our school, administrators and Ms. Stratton.

A Proud Arundel Senior High School Parent

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Edward V. - , - Karma: Neutral

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good kid - 2009-06-04 09:11:42

i knew everyone in this sitiuation but i was close to chris and he deffently diddent deserve it and my prayers and thought go out towards the family

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A. Green - crofton, MD - Karma: Bad

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Comment removed by HometownAnnapolis staff. - 2009-06-03 22:50:18

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Chris - 2009-06-03 20:31:18

I knew Chris. He was a really nice kid who didnt deserve this. This is a horrible thing and needs to be remembered so it doesnt happen again. Please keep him and his family in your prayers.

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Rita S. - , - Karma: Neutral

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so - 2009-06-03 13:11:20

Jason I was going to respond but you can't see the forest for the trees

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Pat M. - Arnold, MD - Karma: Neutral

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Teen killings - 2009-06-03 12:52:00

Bottom line here is that a child was maliciously killed. Does anyone get the fact that black white red or green, a child has been killed and taken away from thier family and friends. 14 years old. He never got to experience life. Hatred gets us no where. Parents pay attention to your children when they say they hate someone take them seriously. Talk to them about hatred before your in front of a judge with your kid facing jail for killing someone.

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cindy s. - , - Karma: Neutral

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trajedy - 2009-06-03 12:22:46

There is nothing that will bring Christopher back. Putting juveniles behind bars denying them an education and chance to reform will only make society worse.The vigil should be for all involved in the altercation. Their families are victims to.

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Jason S. - baltimore, md - Karma: Neutral

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Jason - 2009-06-03 12:09:33

Jason any child dying matters, your outrage should be that black leaders of Baltimore are not outraged when a black child dies at the hands of another. But they tend to stay quiet about black on black crime. The only time black leaders send out a cry of outrage is when a black person is killed by the hands of a white person. So forgive white people for their outrage on the same level. Everyone needs to call on all leaders to show outrage anytime a child is victim to any crime at the hands of any person. Black white etc...Accident or not a child was killed who was from all accounts being harassed by this group of thugs. So much so that his parents tried to remove him from the situation. But do not blame white people for being outraged, but call on black leaders to get involved when a black person is killed regardless of who pulled the trigger.

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Pat M. - Arnold, MD - Karma: Neutral

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Apples and Oranges! - 2009-06-03 09:42:58

"They didn't use guns so their intent was not to murder"- ARE YOU KIDDING ME? Has our society become so numb to VIOLENCE that now only guns count as murder? I undertand that these kids threatened Chris before this happened in retaliation for their suspension from school..it that not premeditation? Also the kids killed in Baltimore aren't riding their bikes home from the pool at 4pm on a Saturday. The problem in Baltimore is 99% DRUG RELATED! No comparison to this situation. I agree it is sad but those kids make a choice to get involved in the drug world. Chris Jones did not make that choice!

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P T. - Reisterstown, Md - Karma: Neutral

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Unite - 2009-06-03 09:18:44

The real double standard is the outcry when a white boy is killed in the county. Nearly every night an African American is killed in the streets of Baltimore. There is not this much media attention. There is no huge public outcry.
What happened is sad but it was an accident. That is the reason there is only manslaughter charges. Lets not demonize these boys anymore. They didn't use guns so their intent was not to murder.

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Jason S. - baltimore, md - Karma: Neutral

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Reggie_Where Are You? - 2009-06-03 09:05:35

Why do you avoid answering the questions? Too tough for you to admit you may be wrong? YOU are spewing hate and perpetuating racism. People are tired of the brainwashing and are going to start standing up to the reverse discrimination and double standards. Stop making excuses for people's poor behavior.

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P T. - Reisterstown, Md - Karma: Neutral

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Take a village - 2009-06-03 08:24:27

If you are a Crofton resident, go to the Walden Club tonight at 7 PM and LISTEN and contribute. Bring your passion and desire for what's right. If it's true that it takes a village to raise a kid, you are all parents to all the kids. Please leave your bias at home. The image of either mom crying themselves to sleep over their sons moves me to prayer.

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a l. - , - Karma: Bad

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Everyone - 2009-06-03 01:13:00

Everyone Makes mastkes...That's How our world operates. Yes what the boys did was wrong. But no one can honstly say these boys went out in broad daylight;2 kill a so called Innocent Child. And if they did do that then that child must have not be so innocent. They prob. Both were in gangs. Since in the news tnt is mostly white. And EsD is mostly black. Or maybe this has nothing 2 Do with Race at all. Maybe people are throwing out Guess 2 What they think happen....when they don't know what th3 HELL there talking about. For all we know chris could have tried 2 fight one of th3 boys for his gang tnt. U Will Never Knoe until Someone spills th3 beans! Corrected.

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J. Parker - crofton , md - Karma: Bad

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Arundel/Crofton - 2009-06-03 00:28:52

Contrary to the experience of other commenters, my child was transferred from Crofton Middle School TO Arundel Middle School because of bullying by "good" children of "good" Crofton parents who we knew and liked. Thank goodness we had the resources to pay for a private high school. Bullying is not a new phenomena in this community, but I remember the Arundel principal saying "We can't control whether kids like each other or not, but we CAN control how they behave towards each other on school property." That principal is now retired, but it seems like a philosophy that all school principals should adopt. Had this problem been controlled better in school, perhaps the situation would not have escalated to the streets.

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Marggy L. - Crofton, MD - Karma: Neutral

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Comment disabled due to community reporting. - 2009-06-02 22:40:34

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Comment removed by HometownAnnapolis staff. - 2009-06-02 22:29:23

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Black and white ... - 2009-06-02 19:55:54

and read all over. < br> < br> What difference does it make if Regina ( whomever that is) is black or white ? It is the content of one's character not the color of one's skin that matters. < br> And for you you statistician racists, did you know that 100% of people that commit crimes are criminals ? You race-based-hate filled people need to figure out where to direct you anger. The first step is accepting the fact that you are focused on color.

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reggie schmoenberg - annapolis, md - Karma: Neutral

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Values, or lack of - 2009-06-02 19:41:32

Regina, are you black or white this week? It gets so confusing. How are family values racist? Does teaching your children not to go around beating up other kids (especially 7 on 1) seem racist to you? You do actually make a great point about the ridiculous speeding cameras however...take them off the roads and use them to monitor high crime areas instead. That's a much better use from a public safety perspective. Too bad the state won't go for it though because it would take away all the revenue from speeding tickets.
Given that the top 5 commented stories are all related to this event, with 59 comments on the top one, it doesn't seem people are ready to move on. You say this is a part of life in this culture. Whose culture? Thug culture? My culture certainly does not consider an event like this part of every day life.

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Scott S. - Annapolis, MD - Karma: Excellent

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confused perplexed - 2009-06-02 19:36:39

A gang whether organized or not is still a gang.

A gang is a group of people who, through the organization, formation, and establishment of an assemblage, share a common identity

I do not believe this attack to be racial, kids today are less likely to see skin color. I see that with my own kids. And for that I am grateful.

What does disturb me is that because this was a white child killed, it would appear that the black leaders do not seem to care. Or if this had been a white person in general. Yet a black person get killed at the hands of a white and my god everything must stop there must be protests etc... I saw the story last night on TV of a store owner who shot a robber that had a gun and killed him is now fighting for his own life in court. I don't understand this. The store owner is white, you see on the video tape the robbers come in and pull a gun and now this man could go to jail for a long time. He is being charged murder one. How these kids are just being charged with manslaughter is beyond me. His mother pulled him out of Arundel because of problems with this thug in training. I do not understand how out of 5-7 thugs involved in this the police are saying no one else is expected to be charged. Mr Hartley, be a reporter start looking in to the gang activity that is going on in this county. Investigate this and inform the county. Find out why this 16 y.o was still a freshman in high school. I bet you find that he was given a choice by a judge go back to school or go to juvie. Find out what the school knew or knows about gang activity in the schools. Become a reporter, frankly I could have written this just from reading online about the incident. Serve the community by providing informative information.

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Pat M. - Arnold, MD - Karma: Neutral

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CandleLight... - 2009-06-02 19:33:23

What a sight the CandleLight Vigil was.
So sad to hear the Parents talk.

Now for Rose C..
Gambrills is SIX miles from Crofton??
Need to go back to school learn how to Add.
I live about 5 blocks from the incident(In Walden)
6 miles from my house I am in Bowie beyond the 50 overpass.

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Carl L. - , - Karma: Bad

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FAMILY VALUES ? - 2009-06-02 18:59:49

Family Values are the key P.T ? Whose family the ones in here that are blatantly racist ? No thanks, that Family Values thing is nothing more than a political buzz phrase with no meaning. Racists have a values in their families I guess, and I want none of that.This was at best a case of unintentional manslaughter or the charge would have been much harsher.It is time to move on past this event and all of the conjecture. Terrible things happen my friends, it is part of life in this culture. Modern living is tough Maybe we should take the money invested in Speed cameras and place them in hotspots to discourage thuggery.

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reggie schmoenberg - annapolis, md - Karma: Neutral

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P.T. - 2009-06-02 18:59:32

I strongly agree with you there, particularly about sitting down to dinner as a family. Parents (preferably both parents) need to be involved with their kids, talking about their daily lives, becoming familiar with their friends, etc. From this article it doesn't sound like Javel George's father lives with him or even knows his son very well, if he considers him a good student (being a freshman at 16 indicates he was held back once or twice).
As for the CPD, even if they're simply security guards hired by the neighborhood, they should be interested in the immediate surrounding areas, since that's probably where most of the triangle's burglars, vandals, etc. come from. If I were a resident I'd want them going out there every now and then to make sure the crime stays out, rather than just sitting inside the neighborhood waiting for it.

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Scott S. - Annapolis, MD - Karma: Excellent

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Gambrills not Crofton - 2009-06-02 18:56:20

Our deepest sympathy and prayers go to the family of this wonderful young man. We hope and pray that the County Executive will find a way to stop this senseless bullying of our children. Just a small correction to your story: this crime took place in Gambrills, not Crofton. It is important to those of us who are constantly being asked "where were the Crofton police when this happened". Simply put they were in Crofton this crime took place in Gambrills six miles from our town of Crofton which is patroled by the Crofton Police. That may not have made any difference though since bullys live everywhere and don't care who they attack.

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Dead for Diversity. - 2009-06-02 18:44:27

How many more children have to die at the hands of Black crime? This is getting ridiculous and has been... these animals will kill for $2, they have no respect for anyone and anything.

How many more thousands need to die for the lie that we are all equal? Young Black men commit over half of all homicide in this country.

What will it take before we wake up? How many more people must die?

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Scott S - 2009-06-02 18:12:23

CPD patrol IN the triangle because the residents there pay for their services. An occasional driveby in the other areas will not and should not happen. My point about the video games etc. is to illustrate that LACK of parenting and lack of family/community bonding. These activities make kids numb to violence and do nothing to enhance the family values and morals/decency that kids need to develop. THer are plenty of kids who enjoy these activities in a loving/normal household that aren't violent. How many kids nowadays sit down every night for a family dinner? How many kids pick up the phone and actually speak with their friends instead of sending a text? We are allowing our society to become inpersonal and unable to realte to each other. Cell phones and text messages are a great communication tool but kids use them to spread hate too. The ANSWER is all about getting back to the basics and FAMILY VALUES. Family values instill confidence, love, and an understanding that everyone should get along. It worked for a long time..we need to get back to it!

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P T. - Reisterstown, Md - Karma: Neutral

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P.T. - 2009-06-02 17:17:05

If only the kids who did this were inside playing xbox, watching a movie, or browsing the internet...as opposed to roaming the neighborhood looking for someone to beat up.
While this tragedy was in no way the fault of the police, I do think in light of these circumstances it's fair to re-evaluate the role police can play in preventing crimes like this. Local police especially tend to be more concerned with revenue generating activities (like giving speeding tickets) than activities that have greater impact on public safety but don't generate revenue. I hope they take this as a wake up call and put more resources towards investigating the trend of teenage crews/gangs in our county, and patroling the areas known to have issues. Even if the CPD only has jurisdiction inside the triangle, that doesn't mean they can't do the occasional drive by to the more "problem areas" of Crofton. Sure, maybe they won't make their ticket quota, but perhaps instead they'll stop some of the actual crime before it spills into the triangle.

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Scott S. - Annapolis, MD - Karma: Excellent

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Where's the outrage? - 2009-06-02 17:14:01

Where is the outrage at the BS charges....Chris will be dead forever, yet these animals is getting charged with just manslaughter and reckless endangerment. They (all of them) should be held to the ultimate level of accountability 'Death'. Javel Marqueth George, 16, was charged as an adult and a 14-year-old boy was charged as a juvenile with manslaughter, assault and reckless endangerment. That is a slap in the face of the victim's family.

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JJ Thomas - Annapolis, MD - Karma: Neutral

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Alex..did you ever think? - 2009-06-02 16:37:30

The Sheriff Dept was probably there to show support to the family? I believe Chris Jones' Dad is a local Sheriff. Also, the Crofton Police only have jurisdicition inside the triangle. Sure, they write allot of speeding tickets but they also keep down the number of burglaries and other problems. Everyone complains about the speeding tickets but the efforts of the CPD have probably saved many pedestrians and kids on bikes from being killed by a car...stop whining! As for the AACPD they have jurisdiction for the Meadows/Mews area but their resources are thin and other areas require more police presence. Everyone needs to stop complaining aout the police and schools officials AND take full responsibility for the actions of the kids. Maybe it will help if they turn of the XBox, movies and websites their kids are living on. How about a church service on Sunday...a novel idea? : )

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P T. - Reisterstown, Md - Karma: Neutral

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Sad - 2009-06-02 16:07:54

I passed by the crowd last night on the way back to the triangle. I have never seen such a sight. Hundreds of kids looking so sad and distraught. Right along side all of the parked cars were many,many Anne Arundel County Sherrifs cars. The Sherrifs dept needs to take a little break from serving subpeonas and evicting folks from their homes and assist the Crackshot (ha ha)AACPD as well as the DO ABSOLUTELY NOTHING BUT RIGHT BULLS**T SPEEDING TICKETS Crofton police department. These agencies need to get together, reallocate the manpower and start stomping out these "Crews" or "Gangs" here in Crofton. They apparently can only show a large presence when they are forced or shamed into it. Where were those Crofton or County cops when that poor boy's life was snuffed out? They were writing a seatbelt citation to a 41 yr old housewife on Crofton Parkway. Lets band together as a community and try our best to use what little resources we have to do the most good and keep our children safe.

PS I do wonder what this band of hoodlums will do when they hit prison and find out what a real GANG is all about. Its going to be a wakeup call.

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Alex N. - , - Karma: Bad

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Some facts, pt 2/AACPS - 2009-06-02 16:06:26

Sean A's comment is right on the mark. What are the schools doing? Given their track record, it appears from what's reported that they enabled the transfer, but didn't follow through on the reasons that brought about the transfer in the first place. (much different circumstances, but when we complained about our school, the first thing they did was offer a transfer rather than address the reasons for the transfer). I think to get the real story on what happened, you have to read the Washington Post or another news source. The Post reported this morning that the mother was not satisfied with the schools' response, and immediately moved to transfer her son to protect him. The only way that we'll ever get to the bottom of this is if there is an independent review of how the schools (and police) handled these complaints. Sean A is right -- the question is "what did the schools know and when did they know it? And, what did they do about it?"

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Chris D. - Harwood, MD - Karma: Neutral

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Parents - 2009-06-02 15:41:35

Lets face it people this has more to do with parenting than anything else. Look the kids father says he is "a good student". Hmmmm 16 years old in 9th grade? Does that sound like a good student to you. He is probably more messed up than the kid. Schools and cops can't do it!

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- , - Karma: Bad

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More facts - 2009-06-02 15:31:25

To: D W. - Gambrills, MD - Karma: Neutral I would like to see some follow-up on the other 5-6 teens who watched this happen and a public forum held by the school system on what is being done with these gangs.

My granddaughter knew Christopher and the other 2 boys. On Monday 2 more boys were taken out of the school in handcuffs. I don't know what happened to them as of today, but she witnessed this. So as much as I dislike the Anne Arundel Police they are doing something about this. Sean A, I also would like answers to your questions, as I have a 15 year old grandson who keeps getting suspended for one or two days and then get's to go back into school like he has done nothing wrong. Unfortunately, it may be a long, long time before any of your questions will be even addressed by the AACPS bureaucracy.

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Sam J. - , - Karma: Bad

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School - 2009-06-02 15:07:24

What else can you really expect the school to do? Suspending/expelling kids like this only puts them out on the street during the school day, giving them even more opportunity to cause trouble. Perhaps afternoon and/or Saturday detention, which would keep him in school (and off the street) longer, but they'd have to have a school-related reason to do so. Plus Javel was a 16 year old freshman...meaning he'd already been held back at least once, possibly twice...and was legally old enough to drop out if the school tried anything.

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Scott S. - Annapolis, MD - Karma: Excellent

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School Policy - 2009-06-02 14:54:39

The problem with schools today is that there is so much pressure to meet AYP for attendance and suspensions that the adminstrations are taking every last step not to take kids out of schools. This is a problem every where we go. Years ago, when children did inappropriate things like curse at a teacher, fight, threaten another child it was automatic suspension. We are making a society afraid to hold kids to responsibility. Classes are overloaded and teachers are not getting support because of the pressure on Principals to meet AYP. Problems like this come about because consequences are near transparent. It is sad to see something like this to happen, anywhere. I know, my children won't attend Public Schools unless our discipline procedures change in this State.

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R. Donnelly - , - Karma: Bad

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Tragic Death of Chris Jones - 2009-06-02 14:30:30

My heart goes out to the family. As I read the defining of Crew vs Gang- I quietly wondered does one kill differently? Both have victims. Do we as parents care about the definition. What I would like to hear is action is being taken to prevent another tradegy. This brought back terrible memories of the shooting in Annapolis mall. Can we not ride bikes or shop without fear? I would like to see some follow-up on the other 5-6 teens who watched this happen and a public forum held by the school system on what is being done with these gangs.

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D W. - Gambrills, MD - Karma: Bad

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It's our responsibility - 2009-06-02 14:29:33

What exactly should the school have done on the weekend? And what exactly should they do during school hours other than suspend the child? Should they assign a pupil resource worker to walk around 24/7 and hold the kid's hand so that he doesn't get into trouble? Wake up people the school is not the parent of Javel George! Schools are in place to teach our children, not parent them! We have to stop expecting other entities to take on our greatest responsibility, raising our children to be decent human beings! The schools cannot stop the gang activity alone. They need the community to back them up. Stop whining about it, get off of your couches, go outside and take a good hard look at what is going on in your backyards. And when you see kids acting out, misbehaving, stop them. It can be done, I've done it myself. We need to stand up together as a community and put a stop to this madness.

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L. in Crofton - , - Karma: Neutral

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So sad - 2009-06-02 13:15:10

So horrible. If these kids to not get punished to the full extent of the law, God will surely get them later. However long, I am sure they will pay for their sins.

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Kellie D. - Crofton, md - Karma: Neutral

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For C R - 2009-06-02 12:53:09

Completely agree with you. Dr. Strickler, at least then Principal at Arundel Middle School, loved to hide behind his statistics of violence and poor behavior at AMS. The school, at least 3-4 years ago was just teetering above being a cesspool and the administration was completely out of touch with the realities of the student body. I had to fight tooth and nail with AACPS to have my youngest transferred to Crofton Middle -- a vastly different and better middle school!

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Sean A. - , - Karma: Neutral

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Arundel - 2009-06-02 12:36:01

If the high school is anything like Arundel Middle (located right next to it), all they do is give lip-service to bullying. My child was picked on at Arundel Middle & they just pretended to take action. Now attending Crofton Middle, we had had no problems at all.

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C R - , - Karma: Neutral

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AHS - 2009-06-02 12:12:07

Three of my children have graduated from AHS and my youngest, 14 and a former CAC football teammate of Chris Jones, starts there this Fall - I'm exceptionally motivated to know what measures AACPS and AHS are taking to deal with similar situations in the future!

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Sean A. - , - Karma: Neutral

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please - 2009-06-02 12:09:45

"We need to all move forward, rejoice in his life, and turn this into something positive," she said. "Stop the violence, and just pray for our family."

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Jodi D. - Annapolis, MD - Karma: Neutral

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leaderships in Arundel High School - 2009-06-02 11:58:53

AHS used to be a good school, but now is getting worse and worse in many aspects. It is time to change!

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w. gu - , - Karma: Bad

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Some facts are emerging - 2009-06-02 11:46:48

As parents and as part of the community that pays for and supports our area schools, I believe we need to demand a full accounting from the Anne Arundel Public School System on the events that took place leading up to this tragedy!
[br]
Bob Mosier was less than forthcoming yesterday in terms of conveying his knowledge of the circumstances surrounding Chris Jones' transfer from Arundel High School to South River. Having fought the AACPS bureaucracy in the past, it took Chris' parents weeks to request a transfer and have it acted upon.
[br]
It is my understanding that Javel George had recently been expelled/suspended from AHS and that is was related to the bullying that led Chris' parents to seek a transfer in the first place. MOTIVE -- he wanted revenge for his expulsion/suspension.
[br]
My questions for AACPS:
1. What did you know and when did you know it? 2. Why did it take weeks to act when a students safety was in question? 3. What are you doing to mitigate gang violence in our schools? 4. If a child is expelled/suspended what is the monitoring mechanism regarding his/her activities? Especially in the case where a less than healthy (for lack of a better term) family environment exists? 5. What plans are being looked at, in light of these events, to have a lessons learned review and implement new policies (if needed) to ensure this never happens again?
[br]

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Sean A. - , - Karma: Neutral