ITALY, Texas — Multiple school districts in North Texas are calling on their communities to show support for a neighboring district dealing with a tragedy.
On Friday, a mother in Italy, Texas, was arrested after she allegedly stabbed her five children, killing three of them.
None of the children have been named at this time, but sources tell WFAA that the three deceased were elementary school-aged (a 6-year-old and 5-year-old twins). They were found in a home near Stafford Elementary School.
Their siblings (a 4-year-old and a 13-month-old) were taken to a hospital. Their conditions are unknown at this time.
In support for the community, multiple school districts are planning to wear Italy ISD's colors - black and gold - on Monday.
Ennis, Waxahachie, Milford, Maypearl, Itasca, Frost, Avalon, and Blooming Grove ISDs are some of the many that have posted on social media asking people to join them "in showing support and love to our neighbors."
Italy ISD shared online that more counseling will be available for students on Monday. Any family or community members can also seek counseling at the Central Baptist Church's main campus at 10:30 a.m.
What happened in Italy, Texas?
Sources say a mother - identified as 25-year-old Shamaiya Hall - allegedly stabbed her children on Friday when a CPS worker came to check on her unannounced. The worker suspected Hall was having unsupervised visitations with her children, which she wasn't allowed to do.
Hall's children had been placed by CPS under the guardianship of another relative.
She has since been booked into the Wayne McCollum Detention Center with three capital murder charges. A judge has issued $2 million bond for each charge, totaling $6 million.
Importance of counselors at school
Dr. Susan Franks, a professor of psychology at the University of North Texas Science Center at Fort Worth, weighed in on the importance of a crisis team providing counseling for the victims' classmates who have learned about their deaths.
"Depending on what age group they are working with they have different cognitive and developmental stages in terms of how they handle grief and how they understand death," said Dr. Franks. "You have to allow them to express their emotions."
Dr. Franks graduated with honors in 1992 has more than 31 years of diverse experiences, especially in clinical psychology. She believes another goal for the crisis team is to make sure the students feel safe, especially after hearing about their classmates' deaths from other sources like the news, neighborhood conversations or on social media.
"They will be looking to make sure they meet the children's level of understanding and their level of coping skills they might or might not have," said Dr. Franks.