Over 30 students and a parent got into an altercation at an Arizona high school after a dad confronts his son’s bullies, and this is what happened next.
There was a lot of violence on Tuesday, which was captured on video by students. When a father, 40-year-old Willie Smith, showed up on the Tuscon High School campus to pick up his two sons, police say chaos ensued.
It was reported that they were sent home from school on Monday after a fight broke out with another group of students. School staff advised the father to exit through the back exit to avoid any further confrontation with students, according to a preliminary complaint document obtained by KOLD.
He allegedly refused and instead took his sons through the school’s courtyard during lunch, telling staff that he would use violence if they didn’t stop hearing about how one of his sons was being bullied. He said: “If it’s going down, it’s going down here.”
A group of students allegedly taunted the trio in the courtyard prior to an altercation erupting. Smith allegedly admitted to fighting with a student and pinning him to the ground after flinging punches at him, according to the complaint.
During his arrest, the father claimed that the student had assaulted his son and that he was disrupting an educational institution. Her brother, Rosalinda Martinez, was released on Tuesday night, she said, pending further investigation.
She told the Mail Online: “The judge had seen all the videos and understood the circumstances and told him they could have done things differently and avoided it all.
I’m sure the kids are going to need some kind of counseling. That was too much trauma. One of my nephews had a concussion.”
After a slew of videos of the massive schoolyard brawl surfaced online, the Tucson Police Department announced that it is reviewing the case.
Shocked campus officers watched in disbelief as violence erupted around them in front of their eyes.
According to reports, at least 30 students were involved in the fight, and a 15-year-old has been arrested on suspicion of disorderly conduct and fighting charges.
After the incident, the high school was immediately put on lockdown for several hours, and the school district released a statement on Tuesday in which it addressed the altercation.
“The school is currently in a safety protocol due to an incident on campus. Tucson Police Department and TUSD School Safety immediately responded and will remain on campus for the remainder of the day to ensure there are no additional issues,” it read.
“All students and staff are safe and the campus should return to its regular class schedule within the hour.”
Several parents had complained that authorities had used excessive force, including pepper spray, when they arrived. This news came as a surprise.
To the Mail Online, Tucson police denied using force against the kids.
“This incident occurred in a large area of the campus during a busy time of day (lunch hour). The initial information I have indicates that no weapons were brought onto campus by the suspect and no injuries or medical transports have been reported,” TPD Sgt. Richard Gradillas said
“We can confirm no TPD officers used any type of force that including pepper spray, if it was used it was not by our department.”