By Sean Yoes Baltimore AFRO Editor, syoes@afro.com
Desmond Barnes, one of the victims of the Great Mills High School shooting in St. Mary’s County, Maryland, called 911 after he was shot in the right thigh.
“I was just shot at my school,” Barnes, 14, told the 911 operator from inside a classroom at the high school on March 20. The 911 phone calls by Barnes and others at the school were released by the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office earlier this week.
14-year-old Desmond Barnes, was one of the shooting victims at Great Mills High School in St. Mary’s County, Maryland. (Courtesy Photo)
After he initially called 911, a teacher who was with Barnes in what has been identified as classroom EO1 takes the phone.
“He’s lying on the floor, he’s in pain,” the teacher told the 911 operator. After several minutes, Barnes begins to speak to the 911 operator again.
911 operator: “Desmond?”
Barnes: “Yes sir.”
Operator: “I need you to stay calm. We have help coming to you, okay?”
Barnes: “Yes sir.”
Later in the conversation, Barnes complains his knee is burning. “My knee hurts so bad,” he said. “We’re getting help to you Desmond, okay? You need to stay strong with me buddy,” the operator replied.
Barnes was released from the hospital a day after the shooting. Tragically, his schoolmate, Jaelynn Willey, 16, died after being taken off of life support two days after the shooting. According to the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office, the shooter, 17-year old Austin Rollins was killed when he shot himself in the head, after he was confronted by the school resource officer, Deputy Blaine Gaskill.
A “YouCaring” fundraising account has been set up to help Barnes and his family with medical expenses from his injuries. As of March 30, $24,733 had been raised toward a goal of $25,000.
If you would like to make a contribution for Barnes’ medical expenses, hit the link below.
