She was at the funeral of Wake County Commissioner Dr. James West when it happened, and parents were seeking her counsel looking for answers all afternoon.
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"A lot of parents are saying, 'It's gotta stop, what can we do, what needs to be done, how do we bring awareness that we need help,'" she said standing outside the high school.
Southeast Raleigh students, who were eyewitnesses to the tragedy, were asked to speak with Raleigh Police. Powell joined the parents of those students to ease their concerns.
"My condolences to the family of the young man and to those parents who were trying to figure out this," she said, and she noted that this night can't be like any other night. "How many parents are at home tonight having that conversation with their child that witnessed what happened in there? We've got to have those crucial conversations and if we don't, we're going to see more like this."
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Raleigh City Council member and mayor pro tem Corey Branch was also at West's funeral when the deadly stabbing happened.
He said it is an all-hands-on-deck situation in terms of stopping youth violence, and he's open to solutions that include the entire community:
"No more finger-pointing," he put it.