Amy Inita Joyner-Francis, 16, lost her life to gang violence. The Delaware teen was attacked by a gang of girls in the restroom at her high school, Howard High School of Technology in Wilmington. The altercation on Thursday morning, April 21, was allegedly over a boy according to some.
She was taken to the hospital after a scuffle with a group of girls that ended with her head being slammed against a sink in the restroom, leaving her unconscious. Bystanders watched and recorded.
“She went in there to talk things out. She didn’t believe in fighting,” a classmate, Nik Stryminski, told Delaware Online, “and the craziest thing is she died in a fight.”
In an interview with FOX news, Amy’s heartbroken dad, Sonny Francis says of this tragedy, “I thought schools were a safe place. I think this is a dream and I’m trying to wake up. All I know is my daughter is gone. She was the love of my life and it hurts. There was an altercation that initially started between two people, and my understanding is that additional individuals joined in against the one person.”
Amy had a reputation for being a quiet teen who counseled friends. She was captain of her high school’s wrestling team and had plans to attend college.
Her father added, “I thought that the schools were a safe place that you could drop your kids off and they would come home after school, but apparently that’s not the case with some of the schools now … The children are out of control.”
During a press conference with the media, Wilmington Mayor Dennis William said, “My heart bleeds for the family.”
Amy was airlifted to A.I. DuPont Children’s Hospital in critical condition, where she was later pronounced dead. The cause of death has not been confirmed.
Read what was posted on social media by classmates. It will break your heart.
