Woodlawn Teen Under Arrest In Videotaped School Beating
WOODLAWN, Md. (WJZ) -- YouTube fights are all too common these days but now one Baltimore County student is in trouble with the law after an assault was videotaped near Woodlawn High School.
Rochelle Ritchie has the latest on the investigation.
Baltimore County public schools say social media has become a gateway for students to publicize themselves in good and bad ways. This latest incident involves two students from Woodlawn High School.
Brawling teenagers on YouTube isn't unusual to find. Hundreds of violent videos on the website show high school students punching. But one video now pulled from the popular site has a 17-year-old Woodlawn High School student in police custody facing assault charges.
In the video, one suspect punched the victim, who fell to the ground. There are a group of individuals standing around him while this occurred.
The fight happened near Woodlawn High School on a basketball court.
Baltimore County school officials say posting fights online is a continuous battle of its own.
"You're seeing a rise in kids being involved in this type of incident around the country," said School Superintendent Mark Bedell.
The YouTube fights may be out of the ordinary, but some students told WJZ it's not unusual.
"Things always going to happen. It's life," said one student.
"I think it's for publicity or whatever. People want to know who they are and everybody to see, `Oh, I did this,'" said Ceaira Givens.
Such assaults would otherwise go unknown. The fight was not reported to police; however, with the video in the hands of detectives, there is still a case.
"As far as an evidence standpoint, they are helpful. We can show the video in court and use that to convict somebody who is responsible for a violent action," said Baltimore County Police spokeswoman Cpl. Cathy Batton.
The victim in the video was also robbed. School officials say it is a severe problem that serves as a strong learning lesson.
"We have to teach our kids acceptable behavior. We have to teach our kids that it's OK to talk to us when issues will occur," said Bedell.
The fight happened after school hours.
