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Thirteen Zephyrhills High School students were arrested on Tuesday after a massive brawl broke out on campus. Videos of the same also made it online and left netizens shocked. The reason behind the fight remained unknown at the time of writing this article.
Videos of the Florida school students fighting showed the students piling on top of each other while the staff attempted to break up the brawl. At one point, the Zephyrhills principal, Christina Stanley, also involved herself in the fight where she was thrown to the ground.
Female students were seen punching and kicking each other while the victims of the fight were lying on the ground.
As the school faculty failed to break the fight, police were called to control the situation. The educational institution was then placed under a “controlled campus status,” which means that both students and staff are placed under close supervision until dismissal.
The Pasco County School District also said in a statement:
“The sheer number of students involved and the intensity of the situation made intervention challenging, as students continued to engage in the altercation despite efforts to de-escalate.”
Netizens react to the viral Zephyrhills High School students fight
Internet users were flabbergasted by what they saw. Many could not believe that the students were fighting uncontrollably. Netizens hoped that strict action would be taken against those involved in the brawl. A few reactions to the videos circulating online read:
Parents also expressed concern over the fight that broke out on campus. Kuilani Hafoka Barreno said in an interview with WFLA:
“This was a massive amount of students attacking each other and then when your security, your teachers are now trying to help the situation, they too become victims themselves.”
Parent Danielle Marie claimed that physical fights often broke out at the school, which led to her having her son removed from the institution. She said:
“I just decided that he was not going to attend that school anymore because it had gotten too out of control.”
What happened to the students involved in the fight?
The students who took part in the altercation are now facing battery and disruption of school function charges. They can potentially face discipline from the district as well. Those involved in the fight did not appear on campus the day later.
The Zephyrhills principal also revealed that the students will be facing disciplinary actions.
Responding to the incident, Superintendent Kurt Browning said in a statement on 13 September:
“Let me be perfectly clear: behavior of this nature will not be tolerated in Pasco County Schools. Every student has the right to a safe and conducive environment, and we will take every necessary measure to ensure that this remains the case.”
This is not the first time Zephyrhills High School has dealt with unruly students. In 2017, a 14-year-old student was arrested after he threatened to bring a machete to kill his peers.
According to US News, the educational institution has a student population of 1614.
