Kelsie Crow was only 17 when she died, but that did not mean she failed to impact peoples’ lives. In fact, quite the contrary. Kelsie was a girl that made people laugh and smile. She was loved, and will always be missed by those fortunate enough to know her.

Kelsie Crow was an outgoing junior at Purcell Marian High School. Purcell Marian, a school of around 400 students, is a very close-knit community. That close-knit environment at Purcell makes Kelsie’s death all the more heartbreaking.

“Everybody knows everybody at Purcell, so everybody felt a special way about her because of all the things she was involved in and the people she hung out with,” said Tyrone Jackson, a senior at Purcell Marian.

Kelsie was shot to death on the night of Saturday, April 4th, while leaving a “Sweet 16” birthday party at the Melrose YMCA in Walnut Hills, which was rented for the event.

As many as 50 rounds were fired in the shooting that killed Kelsie Crow. A 17 year-old boy was shot in the arm and a 15 year-old girl was shot in the abdomen. Because they are minors, the teens’ identities were not released.

According to the Cincinnati Police Department, the shooting that killed Kelsie and injured two other teens was possibly gang-related. The reward for information leading to the arrest of Kelsie’s killer is now more than $2,500. Police urge those with information about the crime to call Crime Stoppers 513-342-3040­.

When students returned to school after Easter break, it was clear that someone special was missing. Such is the impact that Kelsie had on her classmates, both in life and death.

Tyrone Jackson explained, “When I walked back into the school, it was really quiet, not many people were walking around. In first bell we prayed a lot and a lot of people were crying and very emotional.”

“Throughout classes the hallways seemed like nobody was really out. Many people tried to stay strong for others, but some couldn’t hold it in at all,” said Jackson.

When the doors of Purcell opened again, grief counselors were on hand to comfort the hurting students. The close-knit Purcell community that Kelsie loved so much is now healing together.

Jackson said, “People in the community are giving us chances to speak out and be leaders for our community. They also let us go to them if we know who has done something wrong or if we just need to talk.”

Kelsie played for the Kolping Soccer Club. Her team played in the Mid-American Soccer Classic tournament the weekend after her death. In the team’s first game without Kelsie, Kolping United beat the Thunder United White team by a score of 2-1 at Joyce Park in Hamilton.

Kelsie Crow was laid to rest on Monday, April 13th. May her family and Purcell Marian community get through this terrible tragedy together.

R.I.P. Kelsie Crow.