Teenagers, Parent Enter Classroom to Assault Student, Say Authorities

Authorities say that six students and one mother entered a Greensboro, N.C., high school on Tuesday, May 25, to target and beat up a 14-year-old student. No charges have yet been filed against the 37-year-old adult or any of the students (including one 18-year-old) for the incident that occurred at Southern Guilford High School. According to the Guilford County Sheriff’s Office public information officer, the charges are slated to be announced this week, and the involved parties have agreed to turn themselves in.

School resource officer Capt. Brian Hall said that school fights are not a rare occurrence but that the involvement of a parent “kind of took it to a whole ‘nother level.”

Parents and community members have pressed for an investigation as to how such an attack could occur on school property. “This absolutely shatters the sense of security,” said Misty Regan, the mother of a student at the high school. “I absolutely cannot comprehend the amount of evil that it takes for someone to get in a car and drive across the county [and do this].”

Authorities said they believe that the group attack is connected with another fight that occurred at a bus stop on Monday, May 24, and that a 16-year-old girl who was involved in that first altercation helped put together Tuesday’s incident in retaliation.

According to Hall, the group of teenagers and one parent arrived at the school in two separate cars. The 16-year-old student propped open an exterior door to let them in and then led them to an upstairs classroom. A video posted to social media by Take Back Our Schools—GCS shows a small crowd of people gathered into a corner, punching the victim, pulling her hair, kicking her, and stomping on her. School staff forced the group out of the classroom, and the video cuts off there.

Hall said that a school resource officer stopped the group in the hall and got their names before they left. All those involved have since been located. Local news station WFMY reports that parents weren’t notified of the altercation until the following day. The school principal did speak to students who were in the classroom, according to a Guilford County Schools spokesperson. The spokesperson said that the fight didn’t trigger a school lockdown because there were no weapons involved and it only lasted about 45 seconds.

According to local news station WGHP, the mother and the 18-year-old could face charges of misdemeanor assault, inciting a riot and first-degree trespassing. The six minor students could be charged on a juvenile petition, and those who aren’t students at Southern Guilford High could also face first-degree trespassing charges.

The attacked teen suffered no injuries other than facial cuts and bruises, said Hall. “My first emotion is just sadness, honestly,” he said. “That students believe, A, that that’s an appropriate way to handle their problems with each other, but, B, that they would think that the school is the appropriate place to do that.”

UPDATE (June 3, 2021): Two adults and six teenagers are facing charges after an assault on a 14-year-old girl in a classroom in Greensboro, N.C. Kiamosha Devanee Sutton, 37, was arrested and charged with first-degree trespassing and inciting a riot. She was released from jail on a $5,000 bond.

A warrant has also been issued for Anikqua Shydasia Beatty, 18.

Six teenagers had juvenile petitions filed against them. Three of them, who were not students at the school where the attack took place, were also charged with trespassing.

"I'm not processing this well at all," said Danielle Campbell, mother of the student who was attacked. "I still can't understand how a grown woman decided she was going to wake up that morning and go jump on a child." Campbell reported that the attack left her daughter with a swollen eye, neck pain, a split lip, scratches, and bruises. The student has yet to return to school since the May 25 event and is receiving counseling, her mother said.

About the Author

Matt Jones is senior editor of Spaces4Learning and Campus Security and Life Safety. He can be reached at [email protected]

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