JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Two teenagers were arrested after a fight at Mandarin High School in Jacksonville. Investigators believe it is gang-related.
The fight happened on Tuesday, Dec. 10. According to the arrest report four students were involved. They reportedly waited for the 17-year-old victim to come out of a classroom. The report states the victim was ambushed. Two 16-year-old boys knocked the victim to the ground, then punched and stomped on him while the other two students filmed it on their cellphones.
JSO believes the fight was part of an ongoing gang dispute and arrested the two 16-year-old. One of the teens attends Mandarin High School, the other attends Edward White High School.
Kim Varner is a retired JSO detective who now helps young people from joining gangs. He said he was not surprised by this fight.
"There is a big problem with kids ganging up trying to be gang members, clique members, whatever you want to call them," Varner explained.
The Principal of Mandarin High School informed parents of the fight last week, saying in a statement that he was disappointed by this behavior. He provided this message to parents:
"Hello Mandarin High School families, This is Principal Bravo. Unfortunately, I need to make you aware of the arrest of a Mandarin High School student yesterday, and the arrest of a student from another school today, following an unacceptable act of violence that took place on our campus earlier this week. Both of these students are facing charges of aggravated battery following their violent confrontation with another Mandarin High School student. Along with criminal charges, we are pursuing strong school disciplinary action. Please note that per our student code of conduct, this level of violence involves a recommendation for expulsion. We are still working with police to investigate how this incident unfolded on our campus, but according to the police report, it appears to be related to an ongoing dispute between the individuals involved. While this incident did not involve the use of weapons, it was still appalling, and behavior of this nature should never be tolerated at our school or any school in the district. I am very disappointed to end this week with this news, but I felt it was important you were made aware and heard it directly from me. As always, don’t ever hesitate to reach out to me here at the school if you have any questions. Thank you for listening to this message. Goodbye."
Duval County Public Schools also responded to the fight saying they work closely with JSO on gang issues, and "gang-related or not, violence on our campuses is not tolerated."
Varner said young kids and teens join gangs for a variety of reasons: sometimes they are following in the footsteps of family members or they just want to feel like they are part of a group. He said parents should be proactive and keep an eye on what their kids are doing.
“I made sure I kept a close look at what they were bringing into the house, what they were taking out of the house. Make sure they’re not repping a lot of the different colors the gangs are wearing, they’re not wearing stuff with gang names on it," Varner said.
The two teens are facing a charge of aggravated battery.