OKLAHOMA CITY - Chaos at a metro middle school is caught on camera as students are seen fighting each other and laying their hands on teachers in an all-out brawl.
John Marshall Middle School has only been open for 2 weeks following the big “Pathway to Greatness” re-shuffle. The school houses 5th to 8th grade students.
“I’m not able to protect my kids every day,” La Vonna said.
It’s this scary thought that’s now on La Vonna’s mind. Her two daughters are enrolled at John Marshall Middle School.
“I hear about kids getting pepper-sprayed, kids in handcuffs, and kids jumping on other kids,” La Vonna said.
The middle school has only been open for two weeks and already a number of brawls have broken out. Some of them caught on camera and sent to KFOR. One video shows a mob of students rushing a doorway and a security officer tackled to the ground, and another video shows students swinging at each other, and at the bottom of the dogpile is a female teacher.
Police say she told them she was punched several times while trying to break up the fight. The Oklahoma City Police Department says she “fell back and hit her head on a fire hydrant” and then “vomited 8 to 10 times.”
An ambulance rushed her to this hospital with cracked ribs and a concussion.
Staff members tell KFOR that two other teachers intervened, one of them in a wheelchair. He took to Facebook saying, “I myself was hit and repeatedly pushed around while attempting to protect the teachers on the ground. I have been cursed at every day and truly teach in fear.”
Police say three students were cited for disorderly conduct.
KFOR has been trying to get answers from Oklahoma City Public Schools since Monday afternoon.
They’ve declined multiple requests for an interview and more than 24 hours later will only say that their “teacher sustained a minor injury.”
Oklahoma City Public Schools released this full statement to KFOR.
“District leaders were made aware of two separate fights yesterday between students at John Marshall Middle School. Unfortunately, a staff member sustained a minor injury while trying to deescalate the situation and was transported by EMSA as a precaution. While middle school fights are never something we want to see and they often result in a large number of students congregating in one area, we believe it is an overstatement to characterize this altercation between 12 & 13 year old students as 'riot.' While the students involved will be disciplined according to our Student Code of Conduct, district leaders are working to provide additional layers of support to JMMS site administrators in order to improve the overall culture of this new middle school and create a positive, safe learning environment. As always, the safety and security of OKCPS students and staff is our top priority. Violence of any kind will not be tolerated.”
Police say there could be more suspects in this specific incident and more could face charges.
