A woman killed in what Philadelphia authorities believe to be a murder-suicide has been identified as a “beloved teacher” at Olney High School, who also served as a special education compliance monitor.
Olney Principal Michael Roth confirmed Ondria Glaze’s death in a letter to students, parents and staff on Wednesday, after she was discovered dead earlier this week. He mourned her loss, calling her a shining example of the school’s motto: “Olney Love.”
“She embodied this mantra and blessed every student and staff member she came across,” Roth said in the letter. “She will be deeply missed and our condolences go out to her family, students, our staff and the entire school community.”
The principal also called Glaze a personal friend and called on everyone “to pull together during this time and support one another.”
Roth added: “That’s what she always did for others.”
Glaze had been a teacher at the high school for 10 years. She was found fatally shot on Monday inside a home on 30th Street near Wharton in the Grays Ferry section of the city, police said. A second person, 42-year-old Richard Harper, was also found dead in the residence with authorities suspecting a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. A firearm was also found next to his body.
Both Glaze and Harper were pronounced dead at the scene, police said.
While an investigation into the deadly violence is ongoing, authorities believe Harper fatally shot Glaze and then turned the weapon on himself.
“It’s such a hard thing to explain,” Olney High School’s Assistant Principal, Andre Beckett, told Fox 29. “I think it’s hard for us to even wrap our heads around about how this could happen to such a wonderful person.”
To honor their slain teachers, Olney High School has started a GoFundMe to establish the “Ondria Glaze Olney Love Scholarship.”
“We are going to give out every year to a graduating senior who also embodies that light and that love here at Olney School community,” Roth said.
