The 16-year-old girl shot in the hallway of her Maryland high school on Tuesday morning was identified by a family member as Jaelynn Willey, a competitive swimmer and adored older sister to seven younger siblings.
Willey is currently in a critical condition after a fellow student at Great Mills High School, identified by authorities as 17-year-old Austin Rollins, shot her with a Glock semi-automatic handgun. Rollins died after an encounter with an armed school resource officer.
"She’s just the sweetest girl. Smart. On the swim team. Loves babysitting her younger siblings," her cousin Nina Rohdin told BuzzFeed News.
Sait Serkan Gurbuz / Reuters
A male student, aged 14, was also injured in the shooting. He's in a stable condition.
Rohdin said she'd spoken with Willey's mother, and that she'd told the family she'd been allowed to see Willey and that the teen is stable and in the Intensive Care Unit of a local hospital. The family is from Lexington Park, Maryland.
"Hoping that she is fighting through, not getting any worse," said Rohdin, 27.
Willey’s paternal grandmother, Donna Newman Christopher, posted on Facebook Tuesday afternoon that Willey had been shot in the head and that the family "didn’t know anything yet."
A high school junior, Willey is the second oldest of nine kids. Her older brother also attends Great Mills High School, where he is a senior, said Rohdin.
Her cousin described her as a "mom type," who loves hanging out with her younger siblings.
"I’ve seen a lot of pictures of her carrying around the younger ones in the carrier," said Rohdin, a baker from Maine.
The high schooler is a competitive swimmer who trains at and competes for the private Great Mills Aquatic Club in addition to representing her school.
She swam in the 2018 Maryland Swimming Junior Championships earlier this month and achieved new personal best times in the 50, 100, and 200 yard freestyle events.
Posts on Willey’s Facebook and Instagram pages show her devotion to the sport — she has posted more than one image of the sun rising over her club’s pool before an early morning practice.
Just recently a fellow swimmer asked Willey to prom by making a poster that reflected her love of swimming. It read: "Fly, back, breast and free, will you swim to prom with me?"
"She was super excited," said her cousin.
A YouCaring fundraiser for her medical bills, organized by a family friend, has already raised over $19,000.
Authorities said on Tuesday they were investigating reports of a prior relationship between Willey and Rollins. Her cousin said she was unaware of any connection between the two, but noted that she couldn't imagine Willey upsetting anyone.
"She’s just a sweet girl, I just can’t imagine her starting a confrontation," she said.
Rohdin said she plans to attend her local March for Our Lives protest against gun violence and school shootings on Saturday to honor her cousin. "I was going to go anyway, but it’s on now," she said.
LINK: Two Students Were Injured, One Critically, In A Maryland High School Shooting
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