Shooting near Alger Middle School was an accident, mother says

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) – The mother of an Alger Heights Middle School student who was shot near the school said his friend pulled the trigger, but she does not believe he intended to hurt her son.

Javeon Childrey, 13, remained hospitalized Wednesday after being shot in the cheek. He was in stable condition, understood what happened to him and was able to speak, his mother told News 8.

“It will take some time, but we hope for a speedy recovery,” said Bianca Bridgeforth. “There are no words to explain how grateful I am. Every time I look at my baby I feel hurt. I am beyond grateful.”

The shooting, which police described as “accidental,” happened around noon Tuesday in a restroom in the wading pool at Alger Park, which is on the same block as the school. The two boys involved are eighth-graders, the school district said. Police say after the shot was fired, both ran to the school’s front door, where school staff began first aid and emergency responders arrived soon after.

Bridgeforth said her son told her his friend, also 13, had the gun. She does not believe he intended to shoot her son.

“He was just playing. Yes, he pointed the gun at him and shot him, but I don’t think he really knew how it would turn out – especially if he ran behind him (to get help),” she said. “I don’t think it was really intentional because there’s no child with that much hatred, I hope.”

She said she found out what happened when her daughter called her.

“She told me via FaceTime that my baby had been shot. I immediately went,” Bridgeforth said.

Grand Rapids Public Schools said it was investigating how the boys left school. Former Kent County Commissioner Robert S. Womack said Javeon told his mother he and the other boy were in the gym and left school to use the bathroom, and they had done so before.

“He walked right out their door,” Bridgeforth said. “It’s horrible for me. The safety, the security of these children; it’s an understatement. You don’t know when these children come and go.”

She called for more security and more adults at school to look after students.

“If we need more teachers or more volunteers in the hallways while we bring these babies together, we have to do that. Anything that needs to be done to keep these children safe is ridiculous at this point,” she said.

Womack said Bridgeforth had not been contacted by anyone in the district as of Wednesday afternoon. Bridgeforth said she has previously expressed concerns about the district’s communications.

“It hurts me to know that I was the same mother that you all know by name, and now look at my child. I begged you all – I begged for calls, I talked to the man who was on the news and no one got back to me. I’m hurt, I’m angry,” she said.

It is still unclear where exactly the weapon came from. Police said in a statement Wednesday that they could not release information about how the students contracted the illness. They added that the investigation into the shooting could take longer than usual, citing “the special circumstances.”

The school district said metal detectors will be in place when students return to Alger Middle on Thursday and will remain there for the remainder of the semester.

— News 8’s Demetrios Sanders contributed to this report.