Mayor Marty Walsh says the Boston Public Schools labor relations department is conducting an internal inquiry into the employment history of English High School dean of students Shaun Harrison, who police allege shot and tried to kill one of the school’s students last Tuesday night in Roxbury.
“The charges against Shaun Harrison are extremely disturbing and I am greatly concerned because of his role with students at English High School,” Mayor Walsh said in Monday’s press release. “It’s critical that, in addition to a criminal investigation, we take a thorough look at his employment within our public school system to ensure that we are taking the necessary steps to protect students throughout the city.”
The release from the Mayor’s Office states BPS labor relations staff will, as part of the internal inquiry, conduct interviews with leaders and other staff members at schools where Harrison was previously employed.
Additionally, Mayor Walsh has called a hearing between BPS and the Boston Police Department to discuss the status of the criminal investigation. The hearing is scheduled for Monday afternoon at City Hall.
Harrison, a 55-year-old minister and community activist, started his BPS career in 2010. Up until his arrest, last Wednesday, Harrison’s BPS work history had been characterized by multiple short stints at a handful of Boston schools. Harrison’s work as a minister included helping Boston police develop stronger ties to neighborhoods, including Roxbury and his home-neighborhood of Dorchester.
On January 5, Harrison was assigned to a managerial position at the English High School – a role the school informally recognized as dean of students, a BPS spokesperson said. Harrison was fired after his arrest last Wednesday.
Police say that last Tuesday night, March 3, Harrison shot a student in Roxbury as they were walking home from the school. Officers responded to 100 Magazine Street at 7:13 p.m. that night to a reported shooting. At the scene officers discovered a man in his late-teens suffering from a gunshot wound.
The unidentified teen was taken from the scene to Boston Medical Center and treated for non-life-threatening injuries.
Harrison faces charges of assault with intent to murder, aggravated assault and battery, and unlawful possession of a firearm.
