Faculty and staff at Howard High are helping students cope after Charlotte Zaremba, a sophomore at the school, was shot and killed on Sunday.
A makeshift memorial was set up in front of Charlotte's home, where there's still little information as to what happened early Sunday morning that led up the shooting that killed Charlotte, injured her mother, and has the accused shooter in the hospital fighting for his life.
"She had a lot of friends. She was a great spirit, and she seemed to be well liked," John White, a spokesperson with the school district, said.
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On a day that's weather perhaps described the mood at Howard High School, students, on their first day back from holiday break, are shocked to hear about Charlotte Zaremba's death.
"Some people were sad and some people had to go to the counselors office and talk to the counselors," Assa Dembele, a freshman, said.
Charlotte and her mother, Suzanne, were shot inside their Knoll Glen Road home around 2 a.m. New Year's Day.
Suzanne survived.
Now bouquets of flowers are wrapped around the home's mailbox.
Police say the accused shooter, a 15-year-old whose name is being withheld, shot Charlotte, her mother, and then attempted to kill himself.
"We want to provide this support through counseling here at the school, but we also want to make sure the parents know they can call the school if they need help talking to students at home," White said.
Some students wore all black in honor of Charlotte.
"Yeah, it was really shocking because I didn't think that anything like that could happen in this environment," Dembele said.
Now a school and a community are mourning together, remembering a life taken too soon.
A school spokesperson says Charlotte was involved in school, saying she was a member of the 'Best Buddies' program that helps people with special needs.
The 15-year-old accused shooter, at last check, is in critical condition at Shock Trauma.
Police don't have a motive at this time.
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