The principal of Whitney Young High School, Rickey Harris, escaped injury after being shot at Friday night while driving in Washington Heights on the South Side.
Harris, 53, was driving southbound when gunfire struck his vehicle around 10:15 p.m. Friday in the 1300 block of West 95th Street, Chicago police said.
“I’m processing it. It’s a day-to-day kind of situation,” Harris told the Sun-Times. “But [I’m] certainly grateful to be alive.”
Police are investigating the incident and have not announced an arrest.
Harris said he doesn’t think he was the intended target. He said he’s seen video showing the shooter targeting another car nearby.
“God is real and God is good,” he said of coming out physically unscathed.
He has also sought professional mental health counseling to deal with the emotional “ups and downs” of the aftermath of the shooting, he said. Harris encouraged others to also seek counseling if they have experienced trauma.
“They can help unpack what took place and what I’m experiencing,” Harris said. “Even beyond this week, this month, this year.”
The lifelong Chicagoan who has worked in education for nearly 30 years said he has never experienced anything like that. Harris said it highlights the need for more youth programming to help keep them off the streets. That includes making schools a safe place where students feel comfortable taking about their struggles and needs, he said.
Harris said he commends efforts like a recent “parent takeover” in response to a purported teen takeover in Hyde Park that never materialized. But he encouraged adults to engage young people in policy conversations because they “respond to authenticity.”
We must also hold children accountable for their actions, he said.
“Students have to feel valued, and we have to make spaces where purpose is cultivated,” Harris said. “Part of what these young people are experiencing is a lack of hope. They don’t value life or have a sense of purpose. So it means nothing for this person to just stand outside in the rain at 10:30 at night shooting at random cars. Something has to be done. We’re in a critical state.”
He hopes his experience drives conversations about investing in mental health resources, passing stricter gun laws and righting “years of harm done in certain communities,” he said.
Communities must also be more tightly knit and look out for each other, Harris said. He wants people to think about something they can do to connect with a young person.
“This moment is bigger than me. Let’s not let this just be another story,” Harris said. “In our different capacities, we all have a role to play. … I’m hoping something comes out of this in terms of some real change.”