Daily News | Simon Gratz students grapple with losing a friend — a pain too many Philly teens have endured
And now Devin, shot in the chest during whatBut the students and staff of Gratz say they hold each other up every day, refusing to relent to the violence crisis and determined to rise above tragedy.
Devin, a sophomore offensive guard and defensive lineman, wasn’t the most naturally gifted athlete, players said — “He was short but husky,” said Antwone El, 16 — but he was always the first at practice and the last to leave. If he made a mistake, he quickly adjusted, they said, and he never complained.
And man, was he competitive, they said, especially with his older brother Aaron. They recalled a practice drill where the brothers went head-to-head.“Nah, I slipped, I slipped!” he assured them, to laughs and shoves. Yasirah Saunders-Ross, 18, cried into the chest of Devin’s father, Gary Weedon. Saunders-Ross met Devin through a mutual friend a few years ago, and quickly formed a sibling-like bond.As Devin did with his family, he wouldn’t let close friends hang up the phone before saying “I love you,” she said.
But sometimes that’s not enough, said Will Latif Little, a Philadelphia life coach who helps people work through trauma, because the grief of losing a friend so violently is long-lasting and complex.
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