16-year-old girl dies after assault in high school bathroom

(Image credit: Twitter.com/HuffingtonPost)

published 22 April 2016

Police in Wilmington, Delaware, say a 16-year-old girl died Thursday morning after being assaulted inside a bathroom at her high school.

The student has been identified by friends and sources as Amy Inita Joyner-Francis, a sophomore at Howard High School of Technology, Delaware Online reports. She was flown to A.I. DuPont Hospital for Children in critical condition, and was later pronounced dead from her injuries. The incident took place as school was starting, and police have interviewed multiple students, including two female students who went to police headquarters for further questioning.

"My heart bleeds for the family," Mayor Dennis Williams said during a press conference. "Things like this shouldn't happen." Police Chief Bobby Cummings said the exact cause of death has not been confirmed, and Howard is not known to be a violent school. "Our entire city is shaken by the loss of this child's life, but in this moment we should all come together to work collectively to address the serious needs of our youth," Williams said. "As a community, I know that our strength comes from the commitment that we all have to support our children."

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

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