Oct 27, 2012 4 min read

The recent killing of a Washington & Jefferson College student concerns people who live and work in Washington as much as it does students at the college. Uniting the two communities to find ways to prevent future tragedies was the focus of a meeting Saturday morning between civic leaders, clergy, law enforcement officers, educators, W&J and Wash High students and parents. Lead by Washington Mayor Brenda Davis, they discussed ways to respond to the death of football player Timothy McNerney, who died after being confronted by a group of people on the morning of Oct. 4. “I want to bridge the gap between all of these groups so we can come together in unity,” Davis said to the more than 30 people who attended. The first event will be a “Community Voices Against Violence” march at 11 a.m. Nov. 17. Marchers will gather in front of Old Main and walk to Main Street and then return to the campus via Wheeling, East Maiden and College streets. There will be speakers before and after the march. Saturday’s planning included selecting the color yellow for the march and related materials, providing fliers and informational tables, and seeking donations from local businesses. Davis is asking anyone willing to donate food or beverages to email her at mayor.davis@washingtonpa.us. Tori Haring-Smith, president of W&J, said something good needs to come from McNerney’s senseless death. “We have to make that life count and in order to make that life count we can make it a catalyst for change,” she said. But, as Washington School District superintendent Roberta DiLorenzo pointed out, the real work will come after the march and urged the group to sustain the momentum. McNerney died after he and a friend were walking home from a bar and were attacked by a group demanding their cellphones. McNerney suffered a fatal blow to his head. Police are still looking for his killers and have asked anyone who may have seen something between 2:20 and 2:30 a.m. in the 10 block of East Maiden Street to contact them. Haring-Smith said the anger some W&J students feel is a natural part of the grieving process. But she pointed out there have been positive community responses including Friday night’s collection at the Wash High football game to benefit McNerney’s scholarship fund and another at Trinity High School that raised $800 for his family. “I’ve been saying to the students over and over again, ‘this city is behind you,'” she said, adding that when students see residents marching alongside them it will have a powerful effect. After the meeting, Dakota Holloway, a freshman from Fairfax, Va., said, “I feel like the city is trying to combat this.” Joyce Ellis, executive director of the LeMoyne Community Center, said she uses tragedies as life lessons for children. “This is what happens when you follow a group of people and they make bad decisions. If you have a purpose and a goal in life, you will learn to sidestep these groups,” she said. While the group’s focus will be on community relation building, Jim D’Alessandro, chief deputy with the Washington County Sheriff’s office, reminded them they need to send a message to criminals, too. “Somewhere down the road, someone is going to open their mouth and slowly it’s going to leak out,” he said of McNerney’s killers. “In the end, they’ll get caught.” Two other homicides have occurred in Washington this year. In May, Rensfield Donald Jarvis died of multiple gunshot wounds outside a bar on Ewing Street and, 10 days ago, Vaughn Simonelli died after he was shot following a confrontation believed to have started in a road rage incident.