Since the death of senior Brady Flowers II earlier this month, Jackson-Reed and the surrounding community have sent waves of love and support to Flowers and his family through memorial events, social media posts, fundraising campaigns, and personal outreach. 

But even with that outpouring, the community is reeling from the shooting.

The JR football team, on which Flowers was a captain, is especially feeling the effects of his death. “The other day I was crying because it broke my heart to feel him gone,” said freshman teammate Zari Gedeon. “He taught me good techniques [in football] and how to be a man in life.”

Football assistant coach Frankie Lobos said that he had difficulty maintaining his composure around the team. “The players [feel] very numb to his loss,” Lobos said. “They don’t know how to process it.”

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— Peyton Shum and Orly Jossen

On Monday, May 18, at 3:45 p.m., Jackson-Reed students filed out of the double doors leading to the football field to attend a memorial ceremony commemorating the life of JR senior Brady Flowers II.

As around 100 staff, students, teammates, and family members walked onto the field, they received blue balloons “in honor of Brady’s favorite color,” Athletic Director Patrice Arrington said.

Flowers’ father, Brady Flowers Sr., held a bouquet of flowers. He was joined by Flowers’ mother, Shantae Flowers, his sister, JR junior Summer Flowers, and his aunt, Alisha Cole.

The community formed a circle around Arrington, who spoke first about Flowers, who was 18 years old. “While his life was far too short, the way he lived, it spoke volumes about the type of young man he was,” she said. “Brady was a student who understood perseverance.”

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—Padget Bowers-Shreve

Football coaches, teachers, teammates, and friends remember Brady Flowers II as a charismatic and fearless leader on and off the field, who brought energy and positivity to everyone around him. 

Flowers, who was shot near Jackson-Reed on May 7 and died the following day, played multiple positions on the varsity football team for four years, including running back and safety. He was a team captain this past season.

“He played every game with relentless effort,” football assistant coach and English teacher Miles Lipscomb said. “He really knew how to take people to the next level, and he was always happy, always skipping coming out for football practice, you know, yelling and screaming. He was just a supportive young man who wanted to see everybody grow, not just himself.”

“A lot of the relationships I have as an English teacher are through Brady,” Lipscomb added, “because he used to bring kids into my class, bring them out for football, and he was just that kind of guy.”

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—Eva Solomon and  Padget Bowers-Shreve,

—quote contributions by Orly Jossen

Throughout the week, students decorated Flowers’ locker—and the one below it—with a collage of photos, flowers, and other remembrances.

The locker, on the second floor across from the girls’ bathroom, was transformed from the ordinary green-blue half locker to a full, colorful, vibrant exhibit celebrating Flowers’ life. The images show Brady accompanied by classmates, friends, teammates, staff, and family. 

Some photos are recent, with Brady enjoying his life with friends in and out of JR. Others show childhood photos with his family. 

In one picture, Flowers and his friends pose in the back of Alice Deal Middle School, probably after a school dance or 8th-grade promotion. In another, Flowers and another girl are carrying a basket of plastic eggs, likely to celebrate Easter. A third photo has Flowers in his No. 3 football uniform in the JR stadium.

The locker is draped with flowers. On the floor, at the bottom of the locker, someone left a teddy bear and fresh flowers.

—Eva Solomon

The Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) presence around Tenleytown and Jackson-Reed has increased dramatically since Flowers’ shooting. After school on Wednesday (May 13) and Thursday (May 14), Beacon reporters recorded many more police cars throughout the area than typical. 

The shooting occurred on a side street connecting CVS, Whole Foods, and other Tenleytown businesses to 40th Street, Wisconsin Avenue, and Albemarle Street. Before the shooting, the street was a popular hangout spot for JR students after dismissal. The shooting occurred behind the CVS, which is 400 feet from the main school entrance. 

On Wednesday, the side street was empty of JR students, and the only movement was adults driving cars using the side street to access stores or as a cut-through. One police car was parked in the street where the shooting occurred without its lights on. Two police cars were also parked with their lights on on Chesapeake Street—one directly next to the JR baseball field on Fort Reno and one farther down the street near the C85 bus stop. 

At 9 a.m. on Thursday, when school began at JR, two police cars were spotted across the street from each other with their lights on on Fort Drive, adjacent to Chesapeake Street.

In recent days, police cars have been spotted on Wisconsin, Nebraska, Albemarle, and other streets around Jackson-Reed at varying times. Foot patrols have also been spotted in the area. 

Students have not noticed any major changes with internal JR security. 

JR junior Theo Segal, a football teammate of Flowers, said he had witnessed the increased security presence around Tenleytown. 

Segal said, however, that more police were not the solution. “Putting more police cars in Tenleytown will not get to the core of the issue, which is the problem of gun violence,” he said. 

—Jordana Sloane and Orly Jossen 

The Jackson-Reed community is grieving after the shocking death of senior Brady Flowers II on Friday.

Flowers, 18, was shot in the alley behind the CVS pharmacy on Wisconsin Avenue after school on Thursday. According to a statement from the Metropolitan Police Department, Flowers was taken to a local hospital, where he died on Friday.

Flowers was a member of the Class of 2026 and a varsity football player, as well as an Alice Deal Middle School lacrosse player. After high school, Flowers planned to join the military or law enforcement to help his community.

“Brady was a bright student who approached his future with determination and purpose.” Principal Sah Brown said in an email to be sent to the JR community Sunday afternoon. “He loved football and took pride in being part of a team, demonstrating commitment to both the game and his teammates.”

“His warm personality and natural charisma allowed him to form meaningful relationships with classmates and staff. He cared greatly about his family and others in his life. He will be remembered for the kindness and positive energy he brought to the Jackson-Reed community,” Brown said.

Following the news of Flowers’ death, the JR Instagram account, in collaboration with the Class of 2026, JR Boosters, and JR hype cat accounts, posted a picture of Flowers in remembrance of his death.

“Brady, your presence, your spirit, and your impact will never be forgotten,” the post said. “We stand together in grief, in love, and in support of one another during this heartbreaking time.”

On Friday morning, after the shooting, Brown said in an email to the community that “at no time were we instructed by the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) or DC Public Schools (DCPS) Police to change our building’s operating status.”

Brown added that students and families may notice an increased law enforcement presence around the school to maintain a sense of security. On Sunday, he said that DCPS’s Crisis Response Team would be deployed to the school. The team consists of mental health specialists whose goal is to help students and community members who are struggling, he said.

“Jackson-Reed’s dedicated wellness team, comprising two school psychologists, six social workers, 10 school counselors, and a network of community-based organizations, will also be available to provide a safe space to talk or share their feelings,” Brown said.

Ward 3 Councilmember Matt Frumin said in a statement on Saturday that, in collaboration with the MPD Second District Commander, the city is “taking immediate steps to ensure our neighborhoods and young people are protected.”

Frumin added that the ANC and the Tenleytown Main Street neighborhood organization “have urged MPD to maintain a heightened and more visible presence in Tenleytown.”

“Any death at the hands of gun violence is a senseless tragedy and even more so when the victim is one so young,” Frumin said. “My heart goes out to his family, friends, and the entire community as we mourn this loss.”

“We must be clear: we cannot and will not tolerate violence in our community, particularly in an area traversed by thousands of children every day,” the statement said.

As of Sunday afternoon, no arrests had been announced. Officials asked anyone with information about the incident to contact the MPD at 202-727-9099 or text 50411.

The Beacon will continue to update this story as information becomes available.

—Eva Solomon and Padget Bowers-Shreve