AMSTERDAM, N.Y. - On Thursday evening members of the Amsterdam community came together to talk about one main topic: "coping with grief." It was one week ago that the bodies of two teenagers were found murdered.
"Our kids are going to be upset, there is nothing wrong with that, it's a healthy part of the process," said a grief counselor from Saint Mary's Hospital.
He spoke with members of the Amsterdam community about ways to deal with the deaths of 13-year-old Jonathon DeJesus and 16-year-old Paul Damphier.
According to police the teens were shot to death in a field behind a house in the neighboring Town of Florida.
The murders have rocked the community, especially the youthful friends of the victims, who have been attending memorials and vigils all week.
"The teenagers are definitely angry and I can not blame them," said Paul's cousin Calvin Martin. "My message to them is do not act out in a violent way because it doesn't make anything better."
Martin was one of two members of the Damphier family to be in attendance.
"A lot of people have been down, everyone is handling it differently, our whole family is still devastated," said Casey Martin, another cousin of Paul. "Everyone is still in shock and just wants to come together and show support and love."
Unfortunately, no high students attended the meeting, but the mayor isn't discouraged.
"To come out publicly and say I'm struggling with this, it's easier for people to come out to the memorials for the specific children," said Mayor Ann Thane.
The community also has the task of dealing with second-degree Murder charges against two other Amsterdam teenagers, 16-year-old Anthony Brasmiester and 15-year-old Matt Phelps, both being charged as adults in this case.
"I pray for them and their family and I hope their family is ok and everything will sort itself out," said Martin.
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