Natalie Danielle Brooks was 11 when she was killed in a school shooting at Westside Middle School in Jonesboro, Arkansas, on March 24, 1998. Two fellow students, 13-year-old Mitchell Johnson and his 11-year-old cousin Andrew Golden, triggered the school’s fire alarm to draw students and teachers outside, then opened fire from a nearby wooded area. Natalie was struck by two bullets to the head; first responders found a faint heartbeat and she was rushed to a local hospital but was pronounced dead shortly after arrival due to severe brain stem damage.

The attack left four female students and a teacher dead and wounded eleven others. Johnson and Golden were taken into custody and tried as juveniles. Both were convicted and ordered to remain in juvenile detention until age 21. Johnson was released on his 21st birthday in August 2005 and Golden was released in May 2007; their records were sealed. If anyone knew Natalie or has information about that day, please share details that might help remember her life or clarify unanswered questions.