Students return to classes

Dawn Lane's 14-year-old daughter didn't want to go to school Tuesday.

Stephanie Lane shared classes at Palo Verde High School with Christopher Privett, the 15-year-old gunned down after school Friday in a fatal drive-by shooting. Privett was walking home with friends when one of four bullets fired from a moving vehicle struck him in the chest.

Although her daughter was affected by Privett's death, Dawn Lane insisted that she return to class.

"It's such a random thing it could happen to anybody, anytime," she said early Tuesday morning, as students filed into school to start the day. "It's such a shame that you have to teach your children to dodge bullets on their way home from school."

Palo Verde counselors and members of Clark County School District's crisis management team were on hand to work with students who were grieving, frightened or troubled by Privett's death and the circumstances surrounding it.

School district police and Las Vegas police increased their presence on and around Palo Verde to provide reassurance to students and residents who remain shaken by the violent crime.

"This is one of the most senseless things," Palo Verde High School Principal Dan Phillips said at a Tuesday news conference. "There is normally an answer whether it's gang activity, whether it's a car accident that involved alcohol or things like this. This particular tragedy is that it just doesn't make sense."

Police arrested suspect Gerald Q. Davison on Saturday and charged the 16-year-old Palo Verde student as the shooter. Davison appeared in juvenile court on Tuesday. Investigators described the shooting as random. It does not appear to be gang-related, they have said.

Superintendent Walt Rulffes raised the question about student access to weapons, something he said should concern the whole community.

Freshman Priscilla Tegtow said that students were talking about the same thing on Tuesday. "We can't even buy spray paint," Tegtow said. "How do you get a gun?"

Privett's death was felt by students used to seeing him. Junior Taylor Burke shared an auto technology class with the freshman. It was strange not seeing him there, she said.

"As much as they try to make kids safe, I don't think they can do it," Burke said.

Davison was also the topic of student buzz on Tuesday. He wasn't at school a lot, several students said, and didn't appear to be all that involved in his studies.

"Everyone was pretty shook up," Akanksha Sharma said. "Everyone was surprised something like this happened in Summerlin."

Phillips described Friday's shooting as an isolated incident, as did several parents who chose to escort their teenagers to and from school because of the violent episode.

"Crime is happening everywhere, and this is no exception," said Ernie Salamanca, after dropping off his sophomore son, Brian, at the school entrance. "In these isolated cases, I don't think police can do anything."

Contact reporter Lisa Kim Bach at lbach@reviewjournal.com or (702) 383-0287.