LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (KATV) — Family and friends of a six-year-old boy who was shot and killed over the weekend are gathering in Jacksonville tomorrow to remember him.
Channel Seven’s Ryan Houston spoke with Jacksonville Elementary School Principal Kenneth Miller and Jacksonville North Pulaski School District Superintendent Dr. Jerremy Owoh about how students are dealing with the loss of A’mir Houston.
Jacksonville mourns Amir Houston, 6, as anti-violence group urges action
Miller shared his interactions with A’mir, and how he impacted those around him in a positive way while providing plenty of hugs.
“A’mir definitely was a scholar who always was latching on to as many caring adults as he could find, and so I was thankful that he saw me as one of those, and he was a student who I shared with the family that he, you know, you couldn’t have a bad day around him, because he, joy was truly his superpower. He was always going to seek you out, give you that hug.”
When asked how those who were around Amir every day at one point are coping with the untimely loss, Miller responded by saying, “We’ve definitely have had some, some challenging conversations over the week. We have other people in the school who are connected to the family as well…and so trying to support those scholars.”
“But for his classmates, we definitely have had some very challenging conversations and trying to just help them working with the family and utilizing our school counselors.”
Miller, along with Dr. Owoh, were among those who paid tribute to A’mir during Jacksonville Elementary School’s graduation Thursday, May 21.
Dr. Owoh emphasized the importance of expressing how much A’mir meant to the school and community.
“We’re in place as for our young people, for our scholars, and when we lose one, especially in a tragic way like this, we want the parents to know that we take all of our scholars’ lives seriously, and we definitely wanted to make sure they know that even though he’s no longer with us, that we’re still here for the family, and that he wasn’t just a number on a piece of paper that we knew him.”
“I had a lot of dialog with Mr. Miller, his counselor, his teachers there, the front office staff, and A’mir was loved.”
A community vigil will be held at the Jacksonville Community Center, located at 5 Municipal Drive on Saturday, May 23.
Attendees are encouraged to bring flowers, candles, letters, stuffed animals, balloons, and memorial items for the gathering that is scheduled to start at 7 p.m.