Local school officials, community dealing with student’s death

Donathan Prater
Staff Writer
Published: July 21, 2008

The shock waves of the latest rash of violence to rip through a Washington D.C. neighborhood have created a ripple effect felt in Opelika.

Alonzo Robinson, 13, a rising eighth-grader at Opelika Middle School was shot to death over the weekend while visiting his great-grandmother in the the Northeast Washington neighborhood of Trinidad, according to reports. Trinidad is located in Ward 5 of Washington D.C.

Locally, school officials, who confirmed that Robinson was a student in the Opelika City School system, were coming to grips with the news Monday.

“This is an unbelievable tragedy,”said Mark Neighbors, Opelika City Schools Superintendent. “I’ve been in this business 20 years and it’s always sad anytime something like this happens.”

Farrell Seymore, Opelika Middle School principal, echoed Neighbor’s sentiments.

“We’re in the process of notifying his (Alonzo’s) teachers, but his family will definitely be in our thoughts and prayers. “Alonzo was a funny, intelligent young man who was a leader in the classroom.”