RICHMOND, Va. -- It's a common question coming from those who were at the June 6, 2023, Huguenot High School graduation ceremony, "Why weren't we told he was going to be there?"
That exact question came from Robert Crosby, a Care and Safety Administrator (CSA) who was working the graduation, in an interview during a third-party investigation into the graduation shooting, and what may have led up to it.
Crosby, as well as other CSAs who were assigned to work the ceremony, did not know much about Shawn Jackson, the Huguenot High School senior who was shot and killed outside of the graduation ceremony that day.
Based on hundreds of pages of interview transcripts from the investigation, several CSAs were not made aware of the exact safety concerns Jackson's family had brought before the school system multiple times prior to June 6.
Jackson was receiving homebound learning services due to threats of violence and mental health issues.
Emails provided as part of the investigation showed Jackson's mother sharing concerns about Shawn being put in the same room as students who "literally tried to kill him" for testing.
Other emails speak about Shawn's emotional episodes and testing anxiety.
The transcription from Crosby's interview goes on to say, "We could have removed him [through] another exit so that he wasn't seen by the entire crowd."
The District's Emergency Management Coordinator Monica Fecht called in an "intelligence failure," saying, "Why didn't we know that he was gonna be there, period, if he can't be at school for whatever reason, then you decide to let him walk?"
The transcripts show a common trend of a lack of communication on multiple fronts led to those questions.
Solomon Jefferson, the Chief Academic Officer of Secondary Education, said in his interview that there had been no conversations on Jackson's safety situation with Huguenot's principal at the time, Robert Gilstrap. Solomon also staffing issues and leadership "led to, you know, a lot of the traumatic events that happened."
Jefferson also said Gilstrap was "aloof" when it came to talking about Jackson's safety situation, even after the events of June 6.
Huguenot's Lead Counselor Lisa Harrison and Jackson's direct counselor, Monique Harris, said in interviews that there was no clear process on relaying information from homebound school coordinators, and that there was no clear process for determining any safety concerns for a homebound student to walk during graduation.
Harris, who the investigation found had "squeezed him in" on graduation day, at the request of his mother who wanted Jackson to be recognized for his work in school, was asked if she had a conversation with the principal on Jackson's involvement in graduation, as a principal would normally sign-off on a student's involvement in a graduation ceremony.
Her answer was "No."
In regards to safety of the building, Fecht said she saw no flaws in how security played out at the graduation, meanwhile, Huguenot's Assistant Principal Kevin Monroe said in an interview that there was "no real security."
The exhibits, totaling more than 1,000 pages, can be found in their entirety here.
