ORANGEBURG, S.C. — Area residents gathered to pray for the Orangeburg community a day after three students were injured in a shooting at Orangeburg-Wilkinson (O-W) High School.
A community group met Thursday night to seek healing through prayer, to reflect and to discuss possible solutions to violence in the community.
“I think it’s a wakeup call, said Orangeburg Assistant Solicitor Chelsea Glover. "I think we're realizing that crimes that once happened to adults are making their way to our high schools and our middle schools.”
Glover is an alum of Orangeburg-Wilkinson High School, where three students were injured on campus Wednesday afternoon. She said she had a great experience during her time there, but a lot has changed about the community over the years.
“We just don’t see the community really grabbing these kids and making sure that we bring them in the right direction because it really does take a village,” Glover said.
Latisha Walker, a parent of O-W High School students, said, "I felt relief knowing that they were okay, but still sorrow knowing that somebody else’s child had been injured and possibly killed.”
Walker says she moved to South Carolina from New York and remains hopeful about the city. “Orangeburg is an excellent place to live. You know, we can’t hold fault. We can’t blame anyone.”
However, Walker wants the community to take action. “We have to formulate a plan and stick to it. And make sure that we do what’s best for our youth,” she said.
Orangeburg native Ahnazha Muhammad is a business owner. She created “Pray for OW” flyers and posted them on Facebook to ignite unity among the community and show solidarity.
“I think that I could do better by reaching back out to those who are coming up behind me like ‘Hey, this is what I do, this is how I got here. I come from the same community as you, and it’s possible, like, you can do it too',” Muhammad said.
Glover said even though Orangeburg may not have all the financial resources of some larger cities, they compensate in other ways.
“What we don’t have in capital, what we don’t have in economy, we have it in people. We have it in love. We have it in support. So, it’s up to us to really make sure that we pour that love, that support, and that enrichment into our community.”