ENFIELD -- A family member of 18-year-old Shyhiem Adams who is accused of stabbing 16-year-old Justin Brady to death, spoke exclusively to FOX61 News.
There was raw emotion outside of Enfield court when Adams was arraigned on Tuesday. Friends of Brady, who was a student at Enfield High School, defied a judges orders to keep the peace, shouting expletives at Adams.
In court, Adams wound up collapsing. His stepfather, Ronald Ayton, said it's because Adams has autism.
"He was trying to grow above his disability, and be the best person he can be. For them to talk to him like that, and I can understand why he passed out in court -- it's something he not used to," said Ayton.
Brady was found stabbed in the front yard of a home on Hoover Lane just after midnight Monday. Adams is charged with manslaughter.
John Jackson, a junior at Enfield High School, was in court on Tuesday in support of Brady, and said he got kicked out of the courtroom like many of the other students who were there.
"This kid was never bullied in school, this kid was the bully," said John Jackson.
After the chaotic scene in court on Tuesday, students returned to school Wednesday upset.
Students said they're communicating with each other on social media using the hashtag #JusticeforJustin on Facebook and Instagram. On Snapchat, they're organizing a balloon release memorial at the back field of the high school. It's set for noon on Sunday. There, they will write messages with markers on the balloons, releasing them into the sky.