Police turned out in force at Crane Tech High School on Monday, while students inside the West Side school struggled to understand the fatal shooting of a classmate last week.
Many of the students leaving the school said they knew both Ruben Ivy, 18, who was killed just after school let out Friday afternoon, and DeVonte Smith, 15, the Crane student charged with murder in Ivy’s slaying.
Jarvis Jones, 16, said Ivy and Smith had known each other most of their lives and had a long-running feud.
“Ruben was one of my buddies. It’s just sad. To me, [school] ain’t the same like it was,” said Jones, who joined an after-school prayer rally led by anti-violence activists from the groups CeaseFire and 100 Men Standing. “We got to [stop the killing] and do what we got to do so we can be something in life.”
Students walked out of school Monday to find themselves surrounded by police and TV cameras. Some students said Chicago police did not do enough to prevent Friday’s melee, which also left another student injured after reportedly being beaten with a golf club.
Police said they acted as quickly as possible.
Felicia Taylor, 16, a Crane sophomore, said it was difficult for her to attend school Monday after seeing the fight erupt Friday.
She said the mood inside the school was somber.
“Everybody was in pain; everyone was in the auditorium talking about it and crying about it,” she said. “I never thought anything like this would go down. I never thought it would escalate to something that big.”
Chicago Public Schools officials said attendance was down Monday, even as they increased security.
Michael Vaughn, a district spokesman, said a team of crisis counselers was dispatched to the school. Officials planned to continue the added security until at least spring break, which begins March 17.
So far this school year there have been 18 students in the district killed, 16 because of gun violence, Vaughn said.
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csadovi@tribune.com
