As police search for the person who shot and killed a 16-year-old boy on Sunday morning, grief counselors will be at Wilbur Cross High School to help his classmates who are returning to school for the first time since the tragedy.
Family members identified the teen as Jericho Scott, a talented 16-year-old baseball player.
Jericho's mother, Nicole Scott, said the family is barely holding up.
"You get to the point that you cry so much that nothing comes out anymore," she said. "I haven't slept yet. I tried, but I couldn't. I keep thinking I'm going to wake up from a bad dream but it's not happening."
Police are still searching for the shooter who killed Jericho and shot Justin Compress, 20, multiple times in the shoulder, hand and wrist. Compress is listed in stable condition.
Bridgeport Hospital also treated Tyrese Little, 19, of New Haven, who police have tied to the same New Haven shooting on Exchange Street.
He initially told police he was shot in Milford, but he lied, police said, and has not been cooperative.
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He was also hospitalized on Sept. 6, 2014 after he was shot at Compress' home, according to police.
Someone opened fire into a parked VW hatchback the victims were in on Exchange Street near Blatchley Avenue around 12:10 a.m. Sunday morning.
Jericho Scott was pronounced dead at Yale-New Haven Hospital.
"At first I didn’t even think it was real. Just the other day I had seen him. It’s really, like, sad," Kyra Rodriguez, a student at Wilbur Cross High School, said. "He was really popular in school. Everybody knew him, so I think it’s going to be weird, awkward, sad.
Police said they received reports of a black or dark-colored four-door car seen racing toward James Street after the shooing, but surveillance video has not supported that.
If the shooter fled in a vehicle, it might have been a silver 4-door Lexus or Toyota or a newer model white Nissan, possibly a Sentra, police said.
There are no descriptions of the shooter or shooters.
The fatal shooting has a lot of people, both students and adults, asking how such a thing could happen to someone so young. New Haven's superintendent said that city and community leaders are coming together to see what they can do to prevent another tragedy like this. The superintendent said it's a sad day for the community and that what happened on Sunday was another signal that it's time for leaders to do something about the violence in the city.
"It's really a sign of the times that we need to come together," Scott Dawley, of New Haven, said. "We need to start binding together as citizens and tell these kids you know, look out for each other."
Dawley expressed sadness upon hearing about the shooting and said "you can't really feel safe."
"He's still young and he had his whole life ahead of him," another resident, Martel Arrington said about the death of the 16-year-old. "....Things like that shouldn't happen to no 16-year-old person."
Neighbors said that their community has seen its share of violence over the years and they hope the shooter is found so they can get answers.
"For his parents, the community, his friends, it's a tragedy," Arrington said. "You know, it shouldn't happen like that."
"It’s the dark side of New Haven. Nobody realizes that," Andre Ramirez, a student at Wilbur Cross High School, said. "Being born here, being raised here, it’s just another casualty to the streets. And we all just got to find our way out. Some of us aren’t so fortunate."
The Major Crimes Division and Bureau of Investigations are interviewing witnesses and collecting evidence.
Anyone with information is asked to call New Haven detectives at 203-946-6304.
