MD School Shooting Victim Dies After Being Taken Off Life Support

CHEVERLY, MD — Authorities say one of two teens shot at Great Mills High School died late Thursday night. Jaelynn Willey, 16, was fatally injured Tuesday morning when a classmate she had previously been in a romantic relationship with opened fire inside their school, officials said.

The St. Mary's County Sheriff's Office said Jaelynn Willey died at 11:34 p.m. Thursday. Earlier that night, her family said she would be taken off life support at the University of Maryland Prince George's Hospital Center.

Her mother, Melissa Willey, holding a young baby, said, "On Tuesday ... our lives changed completely and totally forever. My daughter was hurt by a boy who shot her in the head and took everything from our lives. ... It will be different forever."

The matriarch was surrounded by her family Thursday evening at the hospital in Prince George's County, where she delivered the heartbreaking news at a press conference that her eldest daughter of nine children would not survive.

The 16-year-old girl had been taken to the hospital in critical condition after the shooting at her high school in southern Maryland. Officials said she was treated in the intensive care unit for grave injuries. Jaelynn Willey was on life support, her mother said as of 8 p.m. on Thursday, but the family took her off of it that evening.

"She's brain dead," Melissa Willey said, struggling to get the words out, "and has nothing, no life left in her."

Jaelynn Willey was on the swim team at her school, her mother said.

She was known for her selflessness and her "peaceful presence" that could "light up a room," her uncle said in a statement on the YouCaring donation page set up to assist her family.

"It is with terribly broken hearts that we learn of the tragic news regarding Jaelynn Willey," Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan said in a statement Thursday night. "No parent should ever be faced with a decision like this. There are no words adequate to express our compassion for her loving family and the entire Great Mills community. All of Maryland grieves with them, and they will remain in our thoughts and prayers."

Jaelynn Willey was one of three students shot at Great Mills High School before the start of classes on Tuesday. St. Mary's County Sheriff Timothy Cameron said investigators believed she was targeted.

The shooter, 17-year-old Austin Wyatt Rollins, walked into the school he attended around 7:50 a.m. and several minutes later, fired at a girl and boy in the hallway before exchanging gunfire with the school resource officer.

Rollins had a prior relationship with the girl he shot, according to the St. Mary's County Sheriff's Office, which reported the relationship had recently ended.

Rollins was fatally shot and died Tuesday morning. Authorities said they were still investigating whether he was killed by the school resource officer's gunfire or by his own.

One other student was shot at the southern Maryland high school Tuesday morning, a 14-year-old boy. He was identified as Desmond Barnes, according to the YouCaring page set up in his honor. Barnes, who was shot in the leg, was released from MedStar St. Mary's Hospital on Wednesday.

Great Mills High School announced in the aftermath of the shooting that the school would be closed to assist law enforcement personnel and will reopen at the end of spring break, on Monday, April 2.

To help the community deal with the tragedy, the St. Mary's County Health Department created a page with resources for handling the crisis.

SEE ALSO:

• Slain Gunman Identified, 2 Teens Hurt In Maryland School Shooting
• Donation Pages Set Up To Help School Shooting Victims
• Austin Wyatt Rollins: 5 Facts About Maryland School Gunman
• 7 Things To Know: Maryland School Shooting Cop Blaine Gaskill

— The Associated Press contributed to this story.

Pictured, Jaelynn Willey. Photo courtesy of YouCaring.

GREAT MILLS, MD - MARCH 20: Police vehicles are parked in front of Great Mills High School after a shooting on March 20, 2018, in Great Mills, Maryland. Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images.