'Out Of Control': Girls Brawl In Classroom In Latest Fight At Moreno Valley School
MORENO VALLEY (CBSLA) — Another shocking video of students fighting at a Moreno Valley school has surfaced online, within the same district where a 13-year-old boy died from being sucker punched during a fight in the yard of Landmark Middle School.
The video was posted to Facebook and shows a loud melee of screaming girls in a classroom at Sunnymead Middle School.
In the video, the girls are screaming, grappling and fighting. Girls are seen throwing punches and wrestling each other to the ground. It appears a teacher tries to get into the middle of the melee and separate the fighting girls, but asks another student to go and get help.
Student Delilah Barraza says she doesn't know the girls involved in Wednesday's fight, but she still feels apprehension, saying "I got very scared, because the school is starting to get out of control with the fights."
School officials from Sunnymead Middle School confirmed that a physical altercation happened Wednesday between two 12-year-old girls inside a classroom. One of the students sustained a non-life-threatening injury but did not need hospitalization.
"The other student was determined the aggressor and charges will be filed out of custody," the statement from Sunnymead Middle School said.
Schools Superintendent Dr. Martinrex Kedziora held a late afternoon news conference in which he assured parents the district was taking all precautions with the safety of its students.
"I want the Moreno Valley community to hear me loud and hear me clear when I say that...what I've seen in those videos is absolutely unacceptable," he said.
Kedziora also called out the use of social media by teens to "elevate or denigrate" their peers.
A forum was held for Thursday night on the issue for parents and school officials to discuss what can be done about school violence.
"They need to implement the zero-tolerance policy," one woman advocated.
The district said parents, students and schools need to work together to fix the problem.
The new video comes as the district has been accused of not doing enough to combat bullying in Moreno Valley schools. Last month, video went viral of a 13-year-old boy being sucker punched at Landmark Middle School. After the punch, the boy – identified as Diego – hit his head on a concrete pillar and died of his injuries 10 days later. Two boys have since been charged in Diego's death.
Kecia Miller says she took her son out of the district because she didn't think they did enough when he was bullied last year. Diego's death was especially heartbreaking.
"It was very sad, I was shedding tears, like that could have been my son," she said.