LAS VEGAS (KLAS) – Las Vegas parents standing in line for an elementary school trunk-or-treat Tuesday night discussed with their children why two of their classmates wouldn’t be in attendance, following a deadly house fire.
The Clark County Coroner’s Office identified four victims in a Thursday house fire in the southwest valley as Anaya Adem, 7, Aaliyah Adem, 6, Ibrahim Adem, 48, and Abdusalem Adem, 43. The Clark County School District confirmed to 8 News Now Anaya and Aaliyah were both students at Mark L. Fine Elementary.
Following the deaths of two students, Eugene Toyama, principal of Mark Fine L. Elementary, sent an email to parents encouraging parents to monitor their children’s behavior and offered counseling for students impacted by the nearby tragedy.
“Please monitor any signs of grief or behavioral changes in your child as these losses may affect them in unexpected ways, as well as keep your lines of communication open with them,” Toyama wrote. “It is important, to be honest with your child and allow them to express feelings of disbelief, anger, and or grief.”
Toyama wrote the elementary school would offer students support and counseling resources for any wanting assistance.
“It is never easy to lose a valuable life, especially at a young age, and we will truly remember these students as part of our school community,” he wrote.
Parents with children at Mark L. Fine Elementary spoke with 8 News Now during a trunk-or-treat event on campus—an event that Anaya and Aaliyah would have been invited to attend.
Shawn Prisco, a parent, stood next to his daughter Brooklyn, dressed in her Halloween costume, ready to attend the school event, and explained the connection his daughter had with one of the girls lost in the recent fire.
“She was her classmate since kindergarten,” Prisco said. “They grew up going to school together and playing together. They did dress up and she would always talk about how she was like her best friend at school, she was one of the sweetest girls.”
Prisco and several other parents who spoke with 8 News Now expressed their appreciation that their school was offering counseling to students.
“I think it’s amazing,” he said. “I think that that’s a resource that young children absolutely do need. They need their feelings validated, and I think it’s perfect.”
The Clark County Fire Department has not yet released a final determination of what caused the fire which killed four.
