Pittsburgh Mass Shooting: Loved ones pay tribute to Jaiden Brown and Mathew Steffy-Ross
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - The unimaginable heartbreak of Sunday's mass shooting at a party in Pittsburgh involving hundreds of teenagers is starting to set in.
According to police, 10 people were shot at the party Sunday morning. Jaiden Brown and Mathew Steffy-Ross, both 17 years old and seniors in high school, were killed.
Brown's mother was heartbroken as KDKA spoke with her over the phone on Monday. Meanwhile, school leaders said they'll remember Steffy-Ross as a considerate and respectful boy.
Brown's mother did not want to do an interview on camera, as she started making arrangements for her son's funeral, but she did want to share with KDKA a little bit about her son. She said Jaiden was her only child and her heart is crushed.
Brown was set to turn 18 next month and graduate from Woodland Hills High School. His mother said he was a good kid who put others first. Woodland Hills said in a statement that it feels the pain of this loss.
"We owe it to him to his memory to do better for our children, and that is certainly a commitment that we are willing to make," Neighborhood Resilience Project Fr. Paul Abernathy said.
The group is among the resources Woodland Hills is bringing in to help students cope.
"If we lose hope, we will truly be victims of this moment," Abernathy said.
According to Propel Schools, Steffy-Ross was a student at Propel Braddock Hills before transferring to Grace Non Traditional Christian Academy earlier this year. The CEO at Grace said Steffy-Ross was considerate, respectful and left an impact in his short time there. The school is also offering grief counseling to students.
Abernathy said even in dark situations like this, we must have hope.
"We must have hope and the possibility that we can have a day where our children are not dying in our streets," he said.
At this point, police are still looking for the killers. They said if you have anything that could help with their investigation, give them a call.
