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10-Year-Old Boy from Scranton Shot and Killed in New Jersey

SCRANTON — School administrators in Scranton had to break devastating news to elementary students Tuesday morning. A fourth-grader from Scranton was shot ...

SCRANTON -- School administrators in Scranton had to break devastating news to elementary students Tuesday morning. A fourth-grader from Scranton was shot and killed by another child in Newark, New Jersey on Saturday.

The news of the deadly shooting reached Scranton School District officials Monday afternoon.

They came up with a plan to have counselors on hand at Prescott Elementary as they tried to explain something that's even tough for adults to understand.

Teachers at Prescott Elementary in Scranton say it was just beginning to feel like things were getting back to normal after an extended break because of snow when they received unimaginable news that a fourth-grader was killed over the weekend in what appears to be an accidental shooting.

Officials in Newark, New Jersey say Jasiah Coleman, age 10, was visiting his father when another child, an 11 year old, shot Jasiah. It happened around 1 a.m. Saturday.

"It's senseless, and as I told the students today, there's some things in life that we can't explain and this is one of them," said Principal Albert O'Donnell. "Everyone is heartbroken here in the hill section of Scranton."

O'Donnell says social workers and a school psychologist were on hand when he told students in third, fourth, and fifth grades about Jasiah's death. Counseling will be available for the next few days.

School officials say Jasiah Coleman has lived in Scranton with his mother for a few years and that he was popular at school, friendly, and liked to play basketball.

"We were hoping for a great future for him, but sometimes, situations arise and we can't control them. As an adult, it's hard to explain to a 10 year old the reason why when there's no reason," O'Donnell said.

Newark's mayor told reporters that it appears the 11-year-old child was holding a gun when it accidentally fired and shot Jasiah Coleman.

So far, no charges have been filed in his death.

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