NASHVILLE, TN (WSMV) -
Three students of one Nashville school have been killed by gunfire in the last two years, and after a 17-year-old was gunned down at his home this week, his classmates and family said so many student deaths is unacceptable.
At Hillsboro High School, tragedy is becoming all too common. Hillsboro senior DeMarcus Jordan-Ellis was killed Wednesday at his north Nashville home in broad daylight.
"The doorbell rang. He answered it, and they shot him," said Jordan-Ellis' aunt Dreia Estmond-Rogers.
Jordan-Ellis is the third Hillsboro student to die in an off-campus shooting since 2010. One of those teens, Michael Walker, was Jordan-Ellis' cousin.
Walker was killed in an alley shooting in 2010.
"He and DeMarcus where the best of friends," Estmond-Rogers said.
Estmond-Rogers said Jordan-Ellis was like a son to her. She watched him grow up, and she said it was just after his cousin's death that Jordan-Ellis started to hang with a bad crowd.
Police are now on the hunt for Jordan-Ellis' killers, and they said they now believe drugs may be to blame in his death.
"It's a very sad instance, but the facts are what they are and the police department again has determined through our continuing investigation that he was involved in marijuana sales," said Metro Police spokesman Don Aaron.
The teen's aunt said it wasn't long ago Jordan-Ellis was a good student and your average teenager from the suburbs.
"I just don't understand what kind of decision someone would have to make to deserve them getting gunned down in their home," Estmond-Rogers said.
Willie Young is with a group called Nashville Peacemakers, which organizes events to keep teens out of trouble.
"We've got to get everyone involved to stop this, because it's senseless," Young said.
But Young said Jordan-Ellis' death is proof the community is not doing enough.
"This should be our number one priority, because our kids are our future. We need to put every avenue, every dollar into trying to get our kids on the right track. Let's get our kids back," he said.
And while his family grieves, a school community is questioning how to make the violence stop in a place that's been dealing with a lot of death.
Copyright WSMV 2012 (Meredith Corporation). All rights reserved.
