‘Beautiful smile and contagious laugh.’ Lexington school mourns 5th grader’s death
Fayette County Public Schools has taken steps to address grief after a Lexington fifth-grader was killed Sunday.
Landon Hayes, the 10-year-old boy fatally shot, was a student at Ashland Elementary School, the school district confirmed Monday.
School officials called family members of Landon’s classmates, sent a letter to the school community and made a team of grief counselors available on campus Monday.
“With a beautiful smile and contagious laugh, Landon has been a member of the Ashland family since he started kindergarten,” Ashland Elementary Principal John Moore said in a letter to Ashland Elementary families. “Landon loved playing football, his family and being around his peers and teachers. He will be deeply missed by his teachers and classmates.”
Landon’s death was being investigated as a murder-suicide, according to the Lexington Police Department and Fayette County Coroner’s office. Tyrus Lathem, 22, also died in the shooting.
‘Smart, athletic, funny and full of life’
Landon was a youth football player for the Lexington Ravens, according to the team’s Facebook page. The Ravens shared a message Sunday about his death.
“We lost a great kid today,” the team said on Facebook. “Smart, athletic, funny and full of life. Words can’t explain how much we’ll miss you.”
Clark County’s youth athletics organization shared the Ravens’ post and said the football community was “mourning this evening for one of our own.”
“Regardless the team or the jersey as said by many others, each kid touches you in one way or another,” Clark County Youth Athletics said.
Local school principal: Talk with children about grief
Moore urged families to have their children share their feelings about Landon’s death. He asked that families listen to, comfort and reassure their children if they are upset over the news. He also urged families to check for warning signs that indicate their children may need extra support while dealing with grief.
Those signs include excessive fear of darkness, separation, or being alone; clinging to parents; fear of strangers; worry; increase in immature behaviors; not wanting to go to school; changes in eating or sleeping patterns; increase in either aggressive behavior or shyness; bedwetting or thumb sucking; persistent nightmares; headaches or other physical complaints.
Moore asked families to talk with their child’s teacher, counselor or doctor if they feel those problems are apparent. Moore also said the district would keep counselors available for as long as they were needed by students following the shooting.
The national suicide prevention hotline is open 24/7 and can be reached at 1-800-273-8255. Additionally, the Crisis Text Line is available 24/7 for those needing emotional crisis support. It can be reached by texting HELLO to 741741.