A teenage girl was attacked by three students on the campus of a California high school, sparking fury among worried parents.
Video of the horrific fight showed a young woman in gray pants being slammed to the ground by a group of students Friday at Sinaloa High School in Novato.
Eight girls between the ages of 12 and 14 were arrested in connection with the beating. Independent newspaper of Marín reported. Two students suffered injuries.
Parents said this was not the first time a violent attack like this occurred on school grounds and that school administrators did not fully address previous incidents.
“A fight is one thing, when someone is attacked by a group of people you have to treat them a certain way and I feel like the school has paid attention to it and they have minimized it,” Jim McAlpine, parent of a student, said KTVU.
A girl is seen being slammed to the ground by three other teenagers at Sinaloa High School in Novato, California, on Friday.
The video shows the moment the fierce fight breaks out as a girl, dressed in gray pants and a black hoodie, is seen being punched in the face by a girl before two other women join in.
In another clip, the three girls are still on top of the student when a student intervenes and appears to try to separate him.
As he does this, a student with a bright orange backpack advances toward the fight with another student while a large crowd can be heard shouting in the background.
In an email addressing the incident, Sinaloa High School Principal Christy Stocker said students knew a fight would occur the day before and that the second student was injured when she tried to intervene.
“Yesterday, word had apparently spread among the students that this fight was going to take place during lunch,” Stocker wrote.
“This resulted in a large stampede of our students (several hundred of them) running across campus looking for a fight to see it happen.”
He added that the “mob” of students ran across the campus and caused others to fall and “literally be run over by others.”
Sinaloa High School Principal Christy Stocker said students knew a fight would occur the day before and that the second student was injured when she tried to intervene.
Jim McAlpine, a parent of a student, said, “I feel like the school is trying to address the issue in a way that is not direct.”
The principal added, “Please know that severe consequences have been issued for students guilty of causing physical harm to another student.”
Novato Police Sgt. Alan Bates told the Marin Independent Journal that the eight students were arrested and booked into the Marin County Juvenile Center on suspicion of conspiracy to commit a crime and felony assault.
On Wednesday, juvenile detention center staff said some of the unnamed students were still in custody, while others were released.
The two students, who have not been identified, who were left with minor injuries were treated at a nearby hospital before being released, Bates said.
On Tuesday, more than 200 Sinaloa Middle School parents gathered at a community meeting in the school’s library and addressed Stocker and a team of Novato Unified School District administrators.
During the meeting, the parents of the two injured teenagers said their children are physically fine but emotionally shaken, the Marin Independent Journal reported.
Julie Synyard, executive director of educational services for Novato Unified, said, “We are doing everything we can to keep our children safe.”
Stocker told parents that the school will prohibit the use of cell phones to record videos unless they submit the images anonymously to the STOPit app, which goes directly to police.
“From now on, any filming on campus will have harsh consequences,” Stocker added.
The student in gray pants is seen being beaten by others (left). Three girls ganged up on her while others watched and screamed.
Stocker said a ‘huge stampede’ of students rushed to the fight that broke out on school grounds.
After the forum, McAlpine said, “I feel like the school is trying to address the issue in a way that is not direct.”
“So, they don’t want to make a lot of confessions, they’re trying to avoid saying a lot of things. I think they care, but they care a lot more about their reputation.”
McAlpine told KTVU that her daughter “some days is not happy to come to school.” “Being a sixth grader coming to school afraid is a very, very big problem,” McAlpine added.
Gina, parent of a student, said: ‘We have kids who have volunteered information and would go in there. They would help, but in today’s society it is not possible. They were worried about getting themselves into trouble.’
Bates said police are currently investigating the motive behind the massive fight which he called “schoolyard tension.”