PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The Roxborough High School community is mourning another student loss.
Police said 15-year-old Randy Mills, of East Mount Airy, was fatally shot on a SEPTA bus Wednesday night. The Roxborough High freshman was gunned down during an argument on a Route 23 bus on Germantown Avenue.
Roxborough principal Kristin Williams-Smalley was crushed to learn another one of her students was dead.
“She’s devastated,” Philadelphia School District spokesperson Monique Braxton said on Williams-Smalley’s behalf, “as well as the folks who knew Randy. … They’re just at a loss for words.”
Another student died of natural causes earlier in the school year, and in September 2022, five students were shot behind the school after a football scrimmage. One of them, 14-year-old Nicolas Elizalde from Saul High School, was killed.
In addition to the school district’s online mental health services, Braxton said counselors are available at the school for students who need to talk about their grief.
“The trauma that exists, along with the grief, continues for weeks, if not months,” she said. “And the Roxborough community has had several months of coping.”
According to the district, 164 students have been shot during this school year — 23 of them fatally.
Braxton said the district is committed to working with the mayor, City Council and others who share the need to end the gun violence that is having a lasting impact on the city’s children.
SURVEILLANCE VIDEO
Philadelphia police are still searching for the gunman who shot Mills. He is described as a young man, possibly in his early 20s or late teens. Officials released surveillance footage from the shooting in the hopes of identifying him.
The city is offering a $20,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction. Tips can be submitted by calling or texting 215-686-8477. Tips can also be submitted anonymously online.
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