Good Samaritan drives mother of school shooting victim to see son before he dies
Ann Norvell rushed to Butler High School in Matthews, N.C., on Monday morning after learning that a school shooting had just taken place — and ended up performing the ultimate act of heroism: helping a victim’s mother see her son one last time.
Norvell had received a text from her daughter about the school shooting and arrived to learn that she was unharmed. That’s when she noticed a woman in the parking lot who appeared to be “in tears” and “in shock,” according to local ABC affiliate WSOC-TV. She told Norvell she suspected her son Bobby McKeithen had been shot because her other two children, who were with her, were fielding texts from students inside Butler High School saying that was the case.
Norvell said the mother wanted to go to the hospital to check on her 16-year-old son, but that she had a flat tire and seemed frantic. “She had a car seat with a baby with her and an older son, and she was just, ya know, kind of out of it,” Norvell told WSOC-TV. So Norvell said she flagged down a nearby police officer, who told her he didn’t have any information.
Confident that her own daughter was safe, Norvell sprung into action, driving the entire family of three to the emergency room at Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte. She said she later received a call from the victim’s grandmother confirming that the family got there in time to spend a few minutes with the teen before he died from his injuries.
“If I wouldn’t have been there, would she still be standing up there wondering where her son is, missing precious moments, especially getting the chance to say goodbye if there’s nothing you can do,” Norvell told a reporter through tears.
McKeithen, a sophomore, has been described by a family friend as a respectful and outgoing young man who loved to dance and was a football fan.
In a statement Monday, the McKeithen family “thanked the community for its prayers and asked for privacy,” according to the New York Times. “As parents we never expect to send our children to school and they not return home,” the statement read. “The pain that we are experiencing is a pain that no mother or no father should ever have to experience.”
Meanwhile, Jatwan Craig Cuffie, a freshman at Butler High School, has been charged with first-degree murder. Police said that McKeithen was on his way to class when Cuffie allegedly confronted him, according to the New York Times report. A scuffle ensued and Cuffie reportedly shot the teen around 7 a.m., according to eyewitnesses.
“We have literally dozens if not hundreds of kids who were in the hallway when this fight took place who witnessed one of their own be shot and fall to the floor before they ran away in a panic,” confirmed Clayton Wilcox, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools superintendent, in a press conference about the school shooting.
Wilcox says the incident was tied to a bullying situation “that escalated out of control.” Capt. Stason Tyrrell of the Matthews Police Department agrees. “What took place this morning is something that built up,” he said at a press conference. “Several people knew about it — not knew there was going to be a shooting, but knew there was going to be a likelihood of some sort of altercation this morning.”
Wilcox offered his condolences to the McKeithen family and applauded the students and faculty for their courage. He also said Butler High School would be closed on Tuesday to give teachers and students an opportunity to “process” and “come to grips” with the tragedy. Grief counselors will be on hand to help students and faculty when the school reopens later this week.
Read more from Yahoo Lifestyle:
Mom with ‘gut feeling’ stops school shooter before planned attack
Illinois schools have installed active-shooter alarms — will that do anything?
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