Two teenage students from Dunbar High School, accused of conducting a shooting that wounded another student, appeared in court for a preliminary hearing Tuesday to determine if their case would proceed to trial, as FOX 5 DC reported. The courtroom was filled with about 20 friends and relatives of the accused, highlighting the community's engagement with the tragedy.

The injured student, grazed by a bullet, is expected to recover, yet the suspects face several severe charges including assault with intent to kill while armed and having a firearm during a violent crime according to DC News Now. Both individuals named Graves and Frost haven't been granted bond, the tension between judicial prudence and the boys' futures hanging in the courtroom like a heavy cloak.

As the hearing continued, the possibility of additional charges loomed over the proceedings; a teacher reportedly witnessed blood pouring from the student's head after the shooting. The defense has contested the gravity of the charges, with attorneys claiming there’s no evidence their clients intended to harm the victim in the classroom, as detailed in an account by WUSA 9. They also urged the judge to adhere to a prior ruling by another judge who found no probable cause for a second count of assault with intent to kill.

However, the prosecution fired back, pointing to evidence they claim shows the defendants shot towards the school and at a car, resulting in a hailstorm of bullets that inadvertently injured the student, the gravity of the act casting a long shadow over the defendants’ intent. The hearing is set to continue Wednesday, with the students still held without bond and a community awaiting answers on the very nature of violence that has scarred it so deeply, to which sufficient explanations are often as elusive as shadows at dusk.