Officials scheduled grief counseling, shuttle service and revised testing plans after a student died Monday at Valley Forge High School.
PARMA, Ohio — Parma City School District canceled classes for Valley Forge and Normandy high schools for two days after an 18-year-old student died Monday following a self-inflicted shooting at Valley Forge High School in Parma Heights, officials said.
The district’s response moved quickly from emergency lockdown procedures to grief support and scheduling changes for hundreds of students and staff. Police said the incident involved one student and one gunshot in the Valley Forge cafeteria shortly after 2:10 p.m. The district later said the student died after being taken to a hospital. By Monday night, administrators had laid out a plan for counseling at both schools, transportation for families seeking support and a return to classes on Thursday.
The emergency began during the school afternoon at Valley Forge High School on Independence Boulevard. Parma and Parma Heights officers, along with fire personnel, rushed to the building after receiving a report of a shooting. Scott Traxler, a public information officer for Parma police, said authorities quickly determined there was no active threat beyond the single student involved. Students were evacuated under district safety procedures and sent to a reunification site at nearby Cuyahoga Community College. The student was treated by first responders before being transported to a hospital, where she later died. The Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner identified her as Marissa R. Rand, 18.
For district leaders, the immediate challenge was no longer only public safety but how to steady two school communities after a traumatic event. In a message to families issued in collaboration with Parma Heights police, Superintendent Scott J. Hunt and Assistant Superintendent Amy Cruse said they were “devastated” by the loss and called for time to process and grieve. Their statement thanked school staff, students and first responders from both Parma and Parma Heights, as well as Tri-C, for what they said was a coordinated response. The district did not release new details about the investigation, and police did not answer Monday’s biggest unanswered question: how the student was able to bring a firearm into the school.
The district’s support plan stretched across the rest of the week. On Tuesday, April 21, both high schools were to remain closed, but counselors and crisis teams were scheduled to meet with students, family members and staff at Normandy High School from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Shuttle service was planned from Valley Forge at 9 a.m. and 10 a.m., with return trips at 11 a.m. and noon. On Wednesday, April 22, both schools were again to remain closed while counseling services shifted to Valley Forge’s media center during the same hours. Hunt and Cruse said classes would resume on Thursday, April 23, and counselors would continue to be available on campus.
The district also revised testing plans to ease the week’s disruption. Students scheduled for U.S. History and Government exams were told those tests would move to Friday, April 24, from 7:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. at both schools. Officials said students taking the exams would stay in their assigned rooms until testing ended and that no classes would be held after the testing session that day. The changes underscored how the aftermath of Monday’s shooting would reach beyond the initial emergency response. Administrators were not only handling a death investigation but also trying to restore school routines, keep families informed and make room for grief support before students returned to normal schedules.
Witness accounts gathered by local television crews added to the picture of confusion that spread outside the campus as the response unfolded. One student who had left campus earlier told News 5 she began receiving messages from friends about officers rushing into the school with guns drawn and ordering people out. A parent waiting to pick up a child described seeing students and teachers running from the building and hearing urgent warnings from people nearby. Those accounts reflected the chaos of the first minutes, when many families feared a broader attack before police said there was no ongoing danger. By evening, the district’s public messaging had shifted toward counseling access, transportation details and when students would next be asked to return.
As of late Monday, police were still investigating and school leaders were preparing for the first day of counseling Tuesday morning. The district said both high schools would reopen Thursday, April 23, with Friday’s adjusted testing schedule marking the next major step in the week ahead.
Author note: Last updated April 21, 2026.