McNeil High School fights bring suspensions, Sheriff says more may come
The 15 students suspended from McNeil High School on Friday were identified after investigators went through security camera video.
Gavin Wick, a junior at the school, said one of the several fights that broke out Thursday happened behind him in the cafeteria. "At first I thought it was people passing by, they kept on bumping into me and my friend, and we turned around and there was a teacher, like trying to break them apart. Some guy sat down across from me, he had a bloody nose,” Wick said.
Because of the fights, students and teachers were greeted by an increased number of deputies.
A police van on campus was not there for show, but to send a clear message according to Sheriff Robert Chody who spoke to FOX7 by phone. "We're ready, and if kids are not going to heed our warning, and fight like they did yesterday, then we are going to start taking people to jail,” said Sheriff Chody.
One student was taken to the county juvenile justice center Friday morning. He allegedly threw a punch at another student.
Throughout the morning there was an uneasy calm on campus, according to Wick, "There's a lot more officers today, like noticeably, so I mean, I guess that’s better for trying to keep everything low,” he said.
Round Rock ISD sent a statement to FOX7, it read in part;
"We do not tolerate violence or any behavior that impacts campus safety, and any student found to engage in such behavior will face appropriate disciplinary and potentially legal consequences. We ask that our students and parents continue to partner with us by reporting anything they hear that may impact student, staff, or campus safety."
Four teachers were hit trying to break up the fights that broke out. Those responsible, according to Sheriff Chody, are expect to be charged with assault on a public servant.
The Sheriff also believes they know how all this started. "We don’t believe at this time it to be gang-related, we believe this to be one of those trends from Social Media, we believe this was a social media challenge, because we had fights in all areas of the school, for no reason we can find at this point, other than they were fighting. These fights were in the classrooms, these fights were in the lunchrooms, we are looking at videos now,” said Sheriff Chody.
In a social media post, the Sheriff stated a student confessed to sending out the fight challenge message and that individual may be charged with inciting a riot.
More students are expected to identify from the security videos, with formal charges to be filed next week. Deputies are expected to be back in force at the school Monday morning.