Brandon Lawrence shot dead in local neighborhood
April 7, 2016
Freshman Brandon Lawrence, 19, was killed in Lincoln Park about a mile southwest of campus after he was shot and killed around 3:24 a.m. April 3.
New Rochelle police arrived at the scene after multiple reports of gunshots. Ambulance personnel pronounced Lawrence dead when they arrived. Lawrence was a freshman commuter from Yonkers, N.Y.
The 19-year-old suspect in the shooting, Stivenson Desir, a resident of New Rochelle, was taken into custody and has been charged with murder in the second degree.
Vice Provost for Student Life Charlie Carlson was the first Iona staff member to be notified of the incident, and the College was in close contact with the police station throughout the investigation. Carlson assured students that there was never any threat to student safety during the investigation.
Lawrence attended Lincoln High School in Yonkers and played basketball there. At Iona, he often caught the attention of the Iona College Fashion Club.
“The Iona Fashion Club loved the urban style Brandon brought to campus,” sophomore Kyle Ramos, public relations chair of the fashion club, said. “We didn’t know him too well, but whenever we saw him on campus, his style caught our eye. We’ll always remember him for his refreshing style he brought to campus.”
The Office of Mission and Ministry will be sponsoring a prayer service in honor of Lawrence in the Arrigoni Center April 7 at 2 p.m. This will be the official memorial service of the school.
“Prayer is how we [Iona College] deal with tragedy, and it is part of the healing process,” Carlson said. “[The purpose of the service is] to give the community a chance to come together as a Catholic institution to pray for Brandon and his family and his friends.”
For anyone who is in anyway affected by the tragedy, there are numerous outlets on campus that can be used to deal with grief. The Counseling Center will be holding walk-in hours through April 8. Their first block was on Monday from 1-5. Additional hours were held Tuesday from 3-5 p.m.; Wednesday from 9-10 a.m., 11 a.m.-noon and 3-5 p.m. Walk-in hours are set for Thursday from 11 a.m.-noon, 1-2 p.m. and 3-5 p.m.; and Friday from 9-11 a.m. and 3-5 p.m. The Counseling Center is on the second floor of Spellman.
The Counseling Center is not the only place for people to find help if they are having a hard time dealing with their grief or other emotions. Resident assistants, campus ministers, resident hall directors and most staff members are open to talking and to helping students though this hard time.
“We are not afraid to go the extra mile,” Carlson said. “It’s who we are and who we should be.”
Carlson added that Iona College has an obligation to students and their parents to keep students safe as well as to educate them.
Senior Tommy Severin, SGA President, sent out an email Monday afternoon informing the student body of the aid offered by the school and expressing his sorrow.
“I would like to remind students of the importance of supporting one another, especially in times of tragedy,” Severin wrote in his email. “While we may not have all known Brandon, he was part of our community, and his loss will have impacted many on our campus.”
Carlson expressed his desire to see the community heal.
“I would like to see our campus back to normal as quickly as possible,” Carlson said. “Yet people take different amounts of time to deal with their grief.”
Both Carlson and Severin emphasized that people react in different way to tragedy and that everyone must be given the proper time and opportunity to express their emotions.
Many on campus may be afraid for their safety after an event like this. Security has posted tips on its website, and Carlson gave his own advice to students.
“We have to accept some responsibility for our own safety,” he said. “We want to be aware of our surroundings. A lot of decisions we make have a huge impact on our safety.”