It’s a place of learning that this week became a place of grieving.
“It hurts all the way around. You don’t want to see that happen to anybody,” said Rashondra Pate, the general manager of Strawberry International School in Bridgeton.
On Tuesday, the school learned one of its beloved students would not be coming back.
“It’s like you go back looking for the child and realize the child’s not there. It’s like losing one of your own relatives,” said director Ashley Hollis.
St. Louis Police said 8-month-old Reign Crockett was shot and killed by his own father,34-year-old Diata Crockett, during a domestic dispute near I-270 and Riverview in north city.
Crockett allegedly intended to hit the boy’s mother as she was holding him, but the bullet fatally struck Reign instead.
“He just had such a lovely spirit. I’d go get him from the baby room and keep him in the office with me,” Pate remembered.
Staff said at the time of the shooting, the Crockett’s six children were enrolled there.
Pate said she never suspected any trouble at home. "I feel like as young parents, they were doing a good job to me.”
Police reported that the couple’s dispute began at a home in Bellfontaine Neighbors after Crockett’s wife stated she wanted a divorce. Police said the couple had a history of domestic violence issues.
Now, in the wake of Reign’s death, the school is calling on the community to help support his loved ones in their time of need.
"Something like this is not expected and when it happens, we just need to come together to help this family rebuild,” Hollis said.
A GoFundMe account has been established in the boy’s honor with a fundraising goal of $5,000. You can contribute here.
Crockett is charged with multiple felony charges, including first degree murder and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
