Two Los Angeles high school students are charged with a caning on camera that took the injured classmate to the hospital.
School police say it is unclear what started the fight, but there has been a longstanding argument between the girls involved.
The disturbing video shows students gathered in a girls’ locker room at the Social Justice School of the Miguel Contreras Learning Complex. Two high school girls in red and yellow hoodies knock each other to the ground, whereupon a third girl in black joins the fight.
As the video goes on, the girls in red and black begin to stomp, hit, and pick up the schoolgirl in the yellow hoodie while she lies defenseless on the floor.
Other students surround the fighting girls in the video, and some record the incident without intervening.
The incident occurred at 11 a.m. on Monday, with a girl in yellow being the only victim in the fight, according to LA School Police. She was taken to the hospital because of her injuries.
Maria Lourdes Gonzalez, a parent, said in Spanish that it was sad that it could have been one of her children and that no one helped the girl or got any help.
“That worries me because I think that all of us as humans cannot let that happen,” said Sergeant Rudy Perez of the LA School Police.
According to him, the two girls who slapped and beaten the yellow are faced with a battery charge for crime.
“I think it was a bit beyond a typical fight and that made it difficult to see the video of the injured young lady,” said Perez.
Frances Baez, the local district chief, made a statement regarding the incident.
“I want to reassure families that any kind of violent behavior in Los Angeles Unified will never be tolerated,” she said. “The safety of our students remains our top priority and here, too, any kind of violence of any kind is simply not tolerated on our campus.”
School police say the victim’s guardian showed up at school Tuesday morning, upset that the two girls involved in the fight weren’t suspended or reprimanded after the incident – instead, they attended class on Monday and Tuesday.
The girls were arrested at school on Tuesday with minimal problems.
Tanya Ortiz Franklin, a board member for the Los Angeles Unified School District, says the district has moved away from general suspensions for most school misconduct. They are now promoting a restorative approach where they examine and speak to all parties and ask them what they think needs to be done to hold them accountable.
Since all three girls are minors, not much is published about their identities or ages.
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