Maryland high school students return to class for first time since deadly shooting

ST. MARY'S COUNTY, Md. - Students returned to class Tuesday morning at a Maryland high school for the first time since a deadly shooting took place on campus last month. The community showed their support for Great Mills High School students as they headed back to class by lining the streets leading up to the school to welcome them back.

On March 20, 17-year-old Austin Rollins, a Great Mills student, opened fire in a school hallway, shooting 16-year-old Jaelynn Willey in the head. Police say Willey and Rollins were in a relationship that had recently ended.

After shooting Willey, police said Rollins shot 14-year-old Desmond Barnes in the leg before being engaged by School Resource Officer Deputy 1st Class Blaine Gaskill.

Rollins then shot himself in the head. He was rushed to the hospital and was later pronounced dead.

Willey was hospitalized in critical condition, but she was taken off life support on March 23 after doctors determined she was brain dead. She was remembered in funeral services on March 30.

Barnes was released from the hospital the day after the shooting.

Four days after the shooting, an estimated 250 students from Great Mills marched together in the March For Our Lives in Washington to honor Jaelynn Willey and demand action from Congress on gun violence.

An event called Standing Up for Great Mills was posted on Facebook ahead of Tuesday, which was the first day back to class after spring break. The event invited members of the community to come out and show their support for students in the wake of the shooting by lining the sidewalks leading up to campus to greet them on their way back to class.