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Laurel High School and St. Vincent Pallotti came together Monday evening to show their support for two Pallotti students who were randomly attacked.

About 100 people representing the two schools and members of the community gathered for a candlelit "peace walk" from Laurel High to Pallotti. Many were there to support the victims of the attacks, and some said they participated to show their concern about violence in the community and among young people in general.

After the peace walk, Laurel High School Principal Dwayne Jones encouraged students to take responsibility for each other's well being and have the courage to speak up when they witness or learn about violence involving their peers.

"I hear the word ‘snitch' a lot," Jones said. "I hate that word."

In the latest incident on Nov. 7, Laurel Police Spokesman James Collins said a 16-year-old Pallotti student was attacked by a group of 10 to 20 people on Fourth Street near the Laurel Mall. The boy suffered a broken jaw, Collins said, and police have struggled to identify the suspects because the victim was beaten unconscious.

In the other incident, which also took place in early November near the mall, a 15-year-old Pallotti student was beaten by two or three attackers who approached him as he walked from a supermarket in the Laurel Shopping Center to a relative's home near Montrose Avenue. The student required 15 staples on his head but has since recovered, said Pallotti Principal Stephen J. Edmonds. No suspects have been identified.

Nancy Vawter, director of campus ministry at Pallotti, organized the peace walk with a group of students representing both the school and the youth group at St. Mary of the Mills Catholic Church. Vawter said the students were "inspired" to hold a peace walk when they attended the Anti-Defamation League's Concert Against Hate at the Kennedy Center last month.

"We kind of ended up [at] this concert against hate on the eve of a horrific event," she said.

Edmonds said the daily routine at Pallotti has continued as usual since the assaults, but the attacks have worried some students.

"When two of your classmates are randomly attacked, it certainly raises concerns," he said.

Laurel resident Steven Lee, who coaches his daughter's under-19 soccer team at the Laurel Boys & Girls Club, said he's surprised at what he thinks could be growing tensions between some students at Laurel's two high schools.

"I've got kids from both schools on the team, and they get along great," Lee said.

Laurel High School sophomore Darien Anderson, 14, said she participated in the walk because she is concerned about fighting at her school, which she said usually involves large groups of people. Anderson said those who act violently are sending the wrong message about the school.

"One of our Codes of Conduct is to be an ambassador of Laurel High School," she said.

Lee, whose daughter Kendra is a senior at Pallotti, said he hopes the peace walk will encourage students from the two schools to work together and build positive relationships with one another.

"Hopefully it'll go a long way," he said.