NEWPORT NEWS, Va. - Tuesday marks one year sincethe shooting at Heritage High School in Newport News.
Two teens were shot and survived, and two other students were injured while evacuating the school.
Last month, the gunman, a 16-year-old boy, was sentenced to 10 years after pleading guilty to six different charges in this case.
It was September 20, 2021. Sterling Bailey just started his senior year at Heritage High School.
“Me and my best friend were in the cafeteria, just talking, like a regular day,” Bailey told News 3. “We came out of the cafeteria, and I just remember talking about going to class and having a good day.”
Then, all of a sudden, he recalls what happened just ten feet away from him.
“The first shot went off. We thought it was like a balloon, so it wasn't really too timid. Then, the second one went off, and kids were screaming. Kids were running.”
Bailey’s best friend was one of the four students injured related to the shooting.
“We all started running, and it was a very scary incident and experience that happened at that moment,” Bailey said. “You really don't think a gun would come into a school.”
Bailey ran to a nearby firehouse while also making sure his classmates got to safety.
“I made sure to talk to them and help calm them down, and then I had to take time for myself to calm down,” he said. “During the incident, I was nervous, scared, very timid, but during the incident, I really prayed.”
For Bailey, there were lots of questions after what happened.
“Why did this have to happen? Why? Why? Why? A part of me was really hurt,” he said.
Just one day after the shooting, he was asked to speak at a prayer vigil on campus.
“At that point, I really wasn't speaking too much, but when they asked me to come up there, I spoke from the heart,” he said.
Bailey said the speech was a turning point for him.
“It helped me propel more in my speaking. It helped me propel more in being confident and who I am,” he said. “To really go through that, it was very challenging. But then, I had to realize am I going to keep crying about it and complaining about it. Or am I going to push forward, try to get some stuff done in the community and see what we can do to make things better?”
He told News 3, that in the aftermath of the tragedy, his alma mater came together.
“Sure, there were some things in the road that was a little messy, but once we really understood how to grow together, how we can build together, how we can push together, Heritage High School became one of the most powerful forces in Newport News,” Bailey said.
Since the shooting, school leaders have ramped up random searches in classrooms and book bags and increased the number of walk-through metal detectors at Heritage High School.
“We're more educated, more informed, and more prepared today than we were a year ago,” Newport News Public Schools Superintendent Dr. George Parker III told News 3. “It is a great deterrent, obviously, to ensure students and visitors do not bring anything on campus that could be used as a weapon.”
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Dr. Parker said they've also brought in more presence with school resource officers and security officers, as well as invested in a new 24/7 anonymous reporting line and alert system for families.
READ: News 3 Investigates: New weapons detection systems launched at several schools in Hampton
“The greatest return on investment is the peace of mind for parents and students,” Parker said. “We'll continue to monitor any protocols that we need to implement to ensure that we maintain safe campuses, not only at Heritage High School but all of our schools.”
“I believe that [the security enhancements] was needed,” Bailey added.
This summer, Jacari Taylor, 16, pleaded guilty to bringing a gun to school and shooting two of his classmates. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
When asked if he has a message for Taylor, Bailey said he’s praying for him.
“I know that it's a challenging time in your life, and I really hope that you get clarity of who you are, get connected with God, and really grow as a person so, when you come out, this could be a testimony of what happened to you,” Bailey said.
Meanwhile, Bailey is on a new journey as a freshman at Norfolk State University on a full-ride scholarship.
“There's more to life, and God gives us all a gift. Are you going to use that gift? Or are you going to keep talking about the bad times that happened,” Bailey asked?
As the one-year anniversary of the shooting crosses his mind, Bailey looks at it as a testimony.
“It changed me as a young man. It changed me mentally. It changed me emotionally, and it helped me grow and groom me to understanding things happen in life,” Bailey said. “Life is always full of different expectations. Things will always happen when you least expect it. But, it's time to keep fighting and keep pushing to be the best that you can be.”
