NEW ORLEANS — New Orleans Police are searching for answers in the death of a 12-year-old boy.
The victim of Monday’s murder on Michoud Boulevard was identified as Derrick Cash, a sixth-grader at Success at Thurgood Marshall in Mid-City.
The school’s Dean of Students, Shayla Shane, described Cash as joyful, caring and everything you would ever want in a student.
“He was the kind of kid who could bring you up when you were down,” Shane said. “He was the kind of kid that could bring light to any dark space.”
The boy’s light was snuffed out when someone shot and killed him, not far from the old Six Flags Amusement Park.
Police found Cash lying on the ground near a vehicle with gunshot wounds.
Cash’s school counselor Janee Mitchell says his death doesn’t make sense.
“We saw him every day in the hall, and it was always a beautiful, bright smile,” Mitchell said. “He was always willing to grow and to work.”
The school was already mourning the death of another student, 7-year-old Dillan Burton.
She’s the young girl killed just after Christmas when someone shot into her mother’s car in Algiers.
“We had one down and now we got another, but we’re a strong team and we’re a family and we hold each other up and that’s part of our mission,” Shane said.
School administrators set up a Go Fund Me memorial account to help Cash’s family with funeral expenses.
So far, police have released few details about the shooting.
Educators say the deaths of two students in recent weeks are not just teachable moments for the kids at Success at Thurgood Marshall, they should also be teachable moments for the city where the violence on the street has become too frequent and sadly all too familiar.
“We have to believe that change will come, and we have to just continue to love and support our kids,” Mitchell said.
If you have any information about these killings call Crimestoppers at 504-822-1111.
A GoFundMe has been created for Derrick Cash Memorial fund.