Brighton students continue to mourn the violent death of a classmate, as children, teachers and staff on Monday return to school after a two-week holiday break.
A sixth-grader at Brighton’s Twelve Corners Middle School was among three people who died in an apparent murder-suicide last week. The community has since rallied around the child’s family, as they try to make sense of the unimaginable loss.
Murder-suicide on Hollyvale Drive in Brighton NY: What happened
According to Brighton police, officers were called to a home on Hollyvale Drive just before noon on Friday to assist an unresponsive girl on the porch. The child – 11-year-old Anne Mancuso – was taken to Strong Memorial Hospital, where she died from gunshot wounds.
During their investigation, officers discovered open doors and a bullet hole in a window of a neighboring house. Inside, they found the bodies of Anne’s grandmother – Mary Liccini, 74, of Avon, Livingston County – and Anne’s father -Lawrence Mancuso, 53, of Brighton.
Brighton Police Chief David Catholdi said that the investigation determined that Lawrence Mancuso shot and killed his daughter and her grandmother before he killed himself. He did not live on Hollyvale Drive, where Anne resided, but elsewhere in Brighton, according to police.
Who was Anne Mancuso?
Eleven-year-old Anne “Annie” Mancuso was a sixth-grade student at Brighton’s Twelve Corners Middle School, district officials confirmed Saturday.
“Annie was known to her friends and teachers as a kind, sweet, and beautiful person in every way,” Brighton Central School District Superintendent Kevin McGowan said in a letter to the district’s students, teachers, staff and families. “A thoughtful, caring student and very special friend, Annie was such a gift to her friends, family and school community.”
Community ‘horrified and deeply troubled’ by Brighton deaths
“There are no words,” McGowan said of the slayings.
McGowan said that he, like others in the community, was “horrified and deeply troubled” by what unfolded Friday morning.
“I cannot begin to find a way to say to Annie’s mother Sarah and Sarah’s father how profoundly sorry we are,” McGowan said. “The peaceful tranquility of a winter morning was brutally broken (Friday) in one of our neighborhoods and the life of an incredible child and her grandmother were taken. The circumstances would be unimaginable if they weren’t a reality. They are the very definition of unexplainable, surreal, and tragic in every way.”
Many Brighton neighbors on Sunday evening lit luminaries in memory of Anne Mancuso and her grandmother.
Grief counselors being made available in Brighton schools
Grief counselors for students and staff will be available in all BCSD school buildings on Monday and whenever they are needed. Students will be provided with direction on how to access those supports.
Families can also reach out to their child’s teacher, counselor, assistant principal or principal for help of any kind or to make arrangements for counseling.
Counseling support for students, staff and families will also be available from 6 to 8 p.m. Monday at Twelve Corners Middle School, McGowan said.
Brighton school district releases statement after tragic death of student
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Brighton school community reeling after tragic death of Annie Mancuso