Hometown Tragedy - Rosewood, NC

(To view video on mobile, click here)

I have no words, as I make this post with a very heavy heart, so I will just simply share this video, along with the story. I am praying for the families of these teenagers, and the entire Rosewood community as we are all completely devastated by this tragedy. 

Spenser Garrison,16 & Malia Porter, 15

GOLDSBORO, N.C. — One by one, hundreds of students and community members gathered around a flagpole at Rosewood High School Monday night.

Tears flowed. Candles were lit. Hugs were exchanged.

Students came to the vigil after hearing about two of their own.

Spenser Terry Garrison, 16, of Goldsboro, and Malia K. Porter, 15, of Pikeville, were found shot in a vehicle on Capps Bridge Road near the Little River Bridge Monday afternoon.

Garrison was pronounced dead at the scene. Porter was airlifted to Vidant Medical Center in Greenville, where she died early Tuesday.

Both shot themselves, authorities said. They were boyfriend and girlfriend.

“It’s real, and now we have to deal with it,” said Josh Overton, a local youth pastor who attended the vigil. “And the way you deal with it is being there for each other. And loving each other. And remembering these families.”

Monday's incident was a tragic reminder of the consequences that come with some decisions, said Daniel Baines, a coach and teacher at the school.

“The kids, you know, they’re very vulnerable, they’re very vulnerable to things that are going on around them,” he said after the vigil. “I just hope that kids can understand that the decisions they can make can be fatal.”