7-year-old shot after pee wee football game in Akron makes triumphant return to school

Jennifer Pignolet, Akron Beacon Journal
Updated ·1 min read
Helen Arnold Community Learning Center first grade teacher Denise Williams, left, watches her former student Tyren Thompson, 7, enter the cafeteria as his mom, Jazmere Stephens, takes photos with her phone. His sister Tyrea, 4, and school principal LaMonica Davis also watch. It was Tyren's first visit to the school since being shot after a pee wee football game last month.
Tyren Thompson, 7, and his mother, Jazmere Stephens, wave as they leave for a doctor's appointment Friday after making a stop at Helen Arnold Community Learning Center in Akron.
Tyren Thompson, 7, and his mother, Jazmere Stephens, wave as they leave for a doctor's appointment Friday after making a stop at Helen Arnold Community Learning Center in Akron.

In his baseball T-shirt and Mickey Mouse face mask, 7-year-old Tyren Thompson clutched his little sister's hand and walked into his elementary school.

That he was there, and that he was walking, was a miracle in the eyes of Helen Arnold elementary principal LaMonica Davis.

"I never thought he would be here this soon after what happened to him," she said.

The last time she saw Tyren, he was in a hospital bed with tubes attached to his body.

But just weeks after being shot following a pee wee football game at Lane Field in Akron, Tyren made a triumphant return to visit the school. He's not back to school yet but was able to return for a visit after being discharged from Akron Children's Hospital last weekend.

A 16-year-old Akron boy is charged in the shooting last month following a youth football game that also wounded a 19-year-old man.

Grasping his principal's hand, Tyren walked into the school's cafeteria, where Davis hadn't yet told the first and second graders, who were gathered after lunch, what was about to happen.

Tyren Thompson, 7, holds a Cincinnati Bengals football given to him by a News 5 Cleveland reporter as he and his mother, Jazmere Stephens, get ready to head to a doctor's appointment after making a stop Friday at Helen Arnold CLC in Akron.
Tyren Thompson, 7, holds a Cincinnati Bengals football given to him by a News 5 Cleveland reporter as he and his mother, Jazmere Stephens, get ready to head to a doctor's appointment after making a stop Friday at Helen Arnold CLC in Akron.

Students yelled from the back rows of tables, "It's Tyren!" Still clutching Davis with his left hand, he reached his right hand up tall and waved.

Davis presented him with an assortment of goodies, including football-themed blankets and pillows, and a Spider-Man blanket and pajamas.

Davis told the students their classmate had been through a lot the last few weeks.

"But look at Tyren!" she said into a microphone. "He walked through those doors. Tyren is a miracle. And we are so happy that you are here with us, and we love you, Tyren."

Contact education reporter Jennifer Pignolet at jpignolet@thebeaconjournal.com, at 330-996-3216 or on Twitter @JenPignolet.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Boy shot last month after pee wee football game in Akron visits school