Hunter High students grieve the loss of their peers
Jan 14, 2022, 9:02 AM | Updated: 9:05 am
Hunter High School students gather at memorial site for their peers. Photo: Derek Peterson, KSL TV
WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah — Many in the Granite School District community are in mourning today. On Thursday, three students from Hunter High School were shot, two of them fatally.
There were no classes scheduled at Hunter High School on Friday. The day was set as a teacher preparation day. However, in the wake of the loss of two students, the school adjusted their plans.
After a fatal shooting on Thursday, 15-year-old Paul Tahi and 14-year-old Tivani Lopati died. A third student, the Granite School District identified as 15-year-old Ephraim Asiata, remained in critical condition Friday morning.
UPDATE on condition of Ephraim Asiata and a message from his family. pic.twitter.com/CdBg8n9D7k
— Granite School Dist. (@GraniteSchools) January 14, 2022
A tragedy for the whole community
In consideration of community’s grief, the Granite School District will provide mental health counselors to all students at Hunter High and Hunter Junior High on Friday. Students are welcome to come to the school to seek crisis counseling and support for their loss.
The Granite School Board had a meeting last night set to discuss how schools would carry out teaching with the unprecedented surge in COVID-19 cases.
The Board President, Karyn Winder, opened the meeting. She urged people to take advantage of the mental health resources. Winder said the losses in Thursday’s shooting are a tragedy for the whole community. Winder specified that the mental health resources are available to students, but also parents and others who may need the support.
A memorial to the Hunter High students lost
KSL TV’s Derek Peterson visited the site of the shooting on a sidewalk near Hunter High Friday morning. A memorial was set up on a fence with lit candles, bouquets of flowers, a blanket with the school’s colors, and a Hunter High School Wolverines medallion.
Four students sat together on the ground and faced the memorial to their peers.
A memorial here in West Valley where two teens were shot yesterday details this morning on #KSLTV pic.twitter.com/pd4s3EMJyq
— Derek Petersen (@Derek_Photog) January 14, 2022
