PONTIAC (WXYZ) — A teen is behind bars awaiting charges. He's accused of shooting and killing an 18-year-old in Pontiac during what police believe was a drug deal.
For other teens in the neighborhood, he's the latest in the list of friends that won't be graduating high school.
“This is the third one in three weeks,” says a high school junior who doesn’t want to share her name.
She’s known 18-year-old Christopher Grant Alexander for awhile.
“We went to middle school and high school together,” she says.
She lives on the same Pontiac street where Alexander was shot and killed Friday night. She hasn’t slept much since. It’s not the first time she’s suffered loss.
“I have to see three people that I really don't want to see in caskets. It's hard,” she said.
Her mother says it's just the tip of the trauma.
“There's been a lot of kids. This is maybe the eighth kid that has died in the last two or years years that she knows,” says the teen’s mom.
Eight kids, friends in middle school, gone before high school graduation. Not just from violence, also drugs, illness and car crashes have taken their lives.
Cassandra Phipps, the program manager for Easterseals Michigan says those numbers don’t surprise her. She has worked with many teens in the Pontiac area, a city with a history of widely known financial struggles and high crime rate.
“Yes, there's a lot of trauma," Phillips said. "Especially in that area because of what's going on in the communities in that area."
The Oakland County Sheriff says violent crimes have increased during the pandemic, impacting teens and their parents.
“I really don't like to let her go anywhere because it's not safe anymore, but she's a teenager… so she wants to do this and that, but it's scary when she leaves,” says one family.
Meanwhile, Pontiac Public Schools still haven't opened the doors and there are no after school programs. There are more crime, fewer opportunities to process the trauma it causes.
“Trauma services are beneficial and are needed just for situations like this. Teens and children going thru all this at a young age, they need a way to process,” Phipps said. “We have a team designated for the Pontiac area."
From grief counseling to other services, she encourages all families to reach out: https://www.easterseals.com/michigan/who-we-are/locations/
