The Tribune

By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS

Tribune Staff Reporter

lmunnings@tribunemedia.net

SEVEN students have been charged after a violent brawl at Doris Johnson Senior High School that was captured on video and widely circulated on social media, police said yesterday.

Assistant Commissioner of Police Chaswell Hanna said the students faced charges related to disorderly behaviour, causing harm and fighting.

The footage, which sparked public outrage, shows a chaotic scene on campus as a group of boys exchange blows. At one point, a student lifts and throws a chair at another in an apparent attempt to strike him. The confrontation then shifts into a separate one-on-one fight. In that exchange, a student picks up a rock and hits another in the head. Other students are heard shouting as the incident unfolds, with profanity audible throughout the recording.

Police said injuries were minor, consisting of scrapes and cuts treated by the school nurse.

ACP Hanna said officers are working with education officials and school safety partners to prevent further incidents.

“We continue to work with the school safety stakeholders including the Ministry of Education, school resource officers and other stakeholders in that matter and to prevent future incidents from occurring,” he said.

He added that while criminal charges may follow depending on the severity of an incident, alternative interventions remain available.

“We give school students an opportunity to redeem themselves by participating in the programme that seeks to correct the behaviour rather than getting them exposed to the criminal justice system,” he said. “So with the consent of parents we have students placed in that programme and it has been successful with most cases in the past and if some other intervention is required we do just that.”

He also pushed back against suggestions that the school was placed on lockdown.

“When you hear the word lockdown, people think that it's some kind of, you know, a serious matter whereas students are in jeopardy, but that’s not the case,” he said. “We don't like to use that word. I don’t think it's an appropriate word to use, but following the incident, all of the school administrative staff brought the school under control so I wouldn't describe it as school being on lockdown. School is always controlled but you always have these incidents from time to time where students have to be dealt with.”

Director of Education Dominique McCartney-Russell said the matter remains under investigation.

“I am advised that several students involved were suspended to REFOCUS centers and will participate in restorative initiatives,” she said. “The principal advised that several parent conferences continued today, and other consequences would be meted out.”