A classroom seat sits empty tonight at Sadie Vernon High School, where seventeen-year-old Derrick Morris should have been focused on his end-of-year exams. Instead, the school community is mourning after the third-form student was gunned down outside his home on Brown Street Sunday night, moments after answering a call at the door. Investigators say the deadly shooting may have stemmed from a dispute over a bicycle, now leaving many to grapple with how a seemingly minor conflict escalated into a fatal encounter.
Shane Williams, Reporting
Seventeen-year-old Derrick Morris should have been in the exam room at Sadie Vernon High School this morning, sitting his end-of-year test and planning his next step forward. But he never made it. The teenager’s life was cut short on Sunday night in front of his home on Brown Street.
Stacy Smith
Stacy Smith, Staff Officer
“What we have learnt so far is that Morris was at his residence on Crown Street when two persons went to the residence and one of them called out for an occupant of the house and when the young Mr. Morris opened the door he was met with gunfire. as it relates to motive, so far the indication is that, this is the consequence over a dispute over a bicycle involving the minor and the detained suspect, someone who is eighteen-years-old.”
This morning, the desk where Morris sat inside his classroom was vacant. A candle flickered beside Derrick Morris’s photo on his desk, while a black bow draped at the school’s entrance captured the deep sense of loss that now hangs over the entire campus. Principal Deborah Martin sat down with News Five.
Deborah Martin
Deborah Martin, Principal, Sadie Vernon High School
“He is small in body, however he had a big personality. That is to say that he is known on the compound. I have seen him a couple times in the office, to make sure he is doing what he is suppose to do. Teachers would say he works, but he has tendencies to challenge like any other student would do in class. He loved football, so whenever they had free time, for example break or lunch, he would be with the other boys playing football. Last week I acknowledge him for getting his projects completed and I could remember the smile on his face, because I said, ok you are working on being promoted to fourth form.”
Morris had faced academic challenges in the past due to behavioral issues, but teachers say they remained committed to supporting him and helping him stay on track to graduate. So, the recent academic progress that Principal Martin highlighted was welcome news. Tonight, police say they have one suspect detained.
Stacy Smith
“Following the review of video footage at the Crime Fusion Center police have detained one male person in connection with the shooting incident that resulted in the murder of seventeen-year-old Derrick Dennis Morris.”
An alleged dispute over a bicycle led to the death of a seventeen-year-old, while an eighteen-year-old is facing possible murder charges. Reporting for News Five, I am Paul Lopez.
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