GUILFORD -- Still no word whether the shooting death of a Guilford High School freshman was intentional or accidental.
The family of 15-year-old Ethan Song is waiting for answers and unfortunately the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner did not provide any on Thursday.
Guilford police were present during the autopsy, but the chief medical examiner’s conclusion was that more investigation is necessary.
“Anything from toxicology to a traditional forensic examination or even just basic interviews or report information,” said Chief Jeffrey C. Hutchinson, of the Guilford Police Department.
He says toxicology reports can take several weeks, so police will concentrate on other parts of the investigation.
“We did the search warrant to get in the house last night,” said Hutchinson. “We’re going to need to do some more search warrants today to get some information from some other evidence that we have collected.”
Police found both Ethan Song and another boy, who is also a minor, inside the residence where the shooting took place, at 104 Seaside Avenue. Both families involved in the shooting being assigned a police liaison “to make sure that they are getting what they need because nobody wants the answer is more than them,” said Hutchinson.
For Guilford High School students, Thursday was no doubt a tough day to concentrate.
“They’re very sad,” said Dr. Paul Freeman, the Superintendent of Guilford Public Schools. “They are confused. They are shocked. But they are there to support each other. There were a lot of hugs in Guilford High School this morning.”
The school system was prepared with a full complement of counselors, but, what about support for officers, who have not responded to this sort of tragedy in the 28 years that the chief has been part of the department?
“Myself and the deputy chief are taking steps to to communicate with our EAP and make sure the services are available to our officers,” Hutchinson said.
Freeman said not only are the kids helping each other, but they were concerned about the greater community. He noted that The students even ask him if he was OK
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