Jhenelle Burgher writes a message on a poster in memory of 17-year-old Aneika Hayden at Excelsior High School in St Andrew yesterday. Hayden was shot and killed by a stray bullet on the weekend. - Norman Grindley/Chief Photographer

She was on a mission to break the chain of poverty and make her family and teachers proud. But in the midst of that dream, the life of 17-year-old Anieka Hayden was cut short by a bullet, fired from the gun of a member of the security forces.

The fourth-form Excelsior High School student was at her Dallas Road home in Halls Delight, rural St Andrew, Saturday night, when a bullet pierced her wooden house and struck her as she slept.

According to police reports, the teen was discovered with a gunshot wound in the aftermath of a shoot-out between gunmen and members of a police/military team. The incident occurred about 11:45 p.m.

The slain girl, who was a former ward of the State, had made a 180-degree turn in her life and had dreams of one day working at a bank.

When The Priory School closed its doors last year, she got accepted at Excelsior, where she began to realise her dreams and her potential began to come to the fore.

"She was a very ambitious girl," said an emotional female student, who was part of a group observed staring at a photograph of the teenager.

The picture was pinned to a notice board in the middle of the schoolyard yesterday. The other girls agreed.

"The last time we spoke was on Saturday. She told me that she had something to tell me, but I never heard from her again," said 15-year-old Okina Thompson, whose swollen eyes told of many hours of crying in a futile attempt to dispel the pain of losing a loved one.

The atmosphere at the school was filled with emotion. Acting Principal Allison Peart said the teen's form teacher was still devastated up to yesterday afternoon.

Guidance counsellors were kept busy consoling Anieka's classmates.

"In January she wrote me a letter asking for help. In the letter, she explained how unhappy she was and wanted to move from where she was living. I passed the letter on to our chaplain," Peart told The Gleaner yesterday.

The acting principal described the teenager as ambitious, honest and as someone who was loved by her schoolmates.

"This is a child who has been through a lot. I remember she came to me recently and was complaining how she needed time at home to study. Before leaving my office, she hugged me, then smiled broadly and promised that she was going to make me proud," Peart said.

The month of March has seemed a bad omen for Excelsior over the last few years, as statistics have shown that someone from that community is killed in either that month or in April.

"Last year, about this same time, one of our students, Monique Solomon, was killed in a crossfire while standing at her gate in Waterhouse, St Andrew," Peart recalled.

glenroy.sinclair@gleanerjm.com