A Colorado school broke its silence after a “cute” and “sweet” 5-year-old boy lost his life.
The principal of the elementary school addressed the incident after the homicide of their kindergartener sent grief rippling through the community.
The victim’s 11-year-old brother is currently facing charges in connection with the loss.
A Colorado school broke its silence after a “cute” and “sweet” 5-year-old boy lost his life
Authorities believe the 5-year-old boy was slain by his older brother, aged 11, inside their rental home in Centennial on Tuesday afternoon, May 10.
“The little boy was so sweet. He would come over and ask my son for help to fix his scooter,” neighbor Louise Ramirez told FOX31.
“He was so little and so cute. One of those people you just want to hug and help,” Louise continued.
Just a few blocks away from the crime scene was the victim’s school, Timberline Elementary School.
The principal released a statement to parents, acknowledging how the kindergartner’s unexpected passing left them with “great sadness.”
“There is currently an active police investigation and law enforcement asked the District not to release the student’s name,” the principal, Mary Bowens, said in the statement to parents.
After asking the community to honor the family’s privacy, the principal said additional mental health support would be offered to students and staff members to process “this loss.”
“There is no right or wrong way to cope with loss, but there are some things that adults can do to help students work through this difficult time,” Bowens wrote.
The principal urged parents to have conversations with their own child and help them seek out an adult’s support if they are “struggling” with the news of the 5-year-old victim.
“Please hug your children — nothing is more important than our kids,” Bowens concluded.
Neighbors living near the victim’s home said the family normally kept to themselves.
But they often saw the victim and his arrested older brother playing outside their home.
Deputies from the Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office responded to the scene at around 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday.
Some residents saw the chilling sight of a stretcher being loaded into an ambulance the same day.
The normally quiet street turned into a disturbing scene on Wednesday, as cops and police dogs swarmed the area.
“I pulled in, I was grabbing dinner, and then I saw two or three cop cars, which is definitely alarming, because we don’t usually see cop cars at all in here,” Kirby O’Loughlin told CBS News about the disturbing sights.
Another resident, Emily Silengo, said their neighborhood is normally a “very safe” and “very family-oriented” one.
“It’s just really shocking, just to come home and like see all this like unfold,” another local, Cain Gutierrez, told the outlet.
“I never expected something like that to happen. So yeah, condolences to the family, because it’s very sad.”
The news was “incredibly jarring and shocking and very emotional, like I said, I have a little daughter of my own, and to hear that, I mean, makes me pretty emotional,” Silengo told the outlet.
O’Loughlin, who is also a parent, said the incident sounded like their “worst nightmare.”
“At least for me, that was my first thought,” the neighbor said.
Officials did not reveal details about the victim’s manner of passing.
The accused 11-year-old brother was placed in custody at the Marvin W. Foote Youth Services Center and charged with first-degree m*rder.
“Our hearts go out to the family of these two young boys and to everyone in our community who is grieving this loss,” Sheriff Tyler Brown said in a statement.
Brown acknowledged how homicide cases involving children are among the “most difficult” for the department, and the team was “fully committed” to the investigation.
“We will continue working tirelessly to determine exactly what happened,” the sheriff said. “We know tragedies like this impact not only the family, but also classmates, teachers, and neighbors throughout the community.”
The sheriff said they appreciated the public’s “support and patience” as the investigation was underway.
“Stop leaving kids with kids,” one commented online, while naother wrote, “I’m sure no blatant red flags were missed or ignored!”
