COLUMBIA, S.C. — For the third time in just weeks, a South Carolina school district is mourning the sudden loss of a student.
Richland One announced on Friday that a young woman killed in a violent incident on Thursday night was a student at Eau Claire High School.
Police said 18-year-old Sha'Neal Brown was killed by her father, Rafael Brown. The father is also accused of killing his mother, 83-year-old Jessie Brown. Both victims had been stabbed.
Sha'Neal was a senior at Eau Claire High School and, according to Principal Neshunda Walters, well-known and well-liked.
"She assisted in the school counseling office and in the library," Walters said. "And she was a special assistant and mentee to our school social worker."
The principal added that Brown was also a member of the marching band's dance team and the Shamrockettes girls mentoring group.
"Our hearts are truly broken," Walters said.
Superintendent Craig Witherspoon acknowledged that this was the third tragedy to befall the district in recent weeks. De'Marion Corbett, a Columbia High School student, was shot and killed on April 20 at Riverside Apartments. And on April 17 a student of Lower Richland High School, Desmond Wilson, was found shot at an apartment complex on Garners Ferry.
"We extend our deepest condolences to her family and to the students and staff at Eau Claire," Witherspoon said. "We ask that the entire community keep them in your thoughts and prayers.”