HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — Fighting among high school boys has been happening as long as there have been boys and as long as there have been schools. However, an incident at Spring Valley High School last week was well beyond just a school house ruckus according to Wayne County Sheriff Rick Thompson.
“I think if it had been a fight, school’s have those and they deal with those,” said Thompson. “They call us when it goes above and beyond and you have to use good judgement at that point.”
However, with everybody armed with a cell phone camera, fights take on a much more sinister tone today. The fight happened in a Spring Valley High School bathroom. One boy beat up another in an apparent dispute over a stolen phone. The fight happened while another student shot video of the incident with the loaned cell phone of a third student, a girl who was waiting outside.
“There were two boys and a girl charged,” Thompson explained. “The girl gave her phone to one of the boys to video the incident as part of the conspiracy. ”
Now all three face juvenile petitions of what Thompson says was clearly an attack. Thompson was notified of the incident and learned the boy involved in the actual fight had been suspended and faced further disciplinary action. However, the video being posted to social media suddenly gave law enforcement all the evidence needed to press criminal charges in the matter.
“That video just shocks you when you see it,” Thompson said. “Just bullying and the individual didn’t attempt to engage in the fight whatsoever. It was clearly went above the fighting we used to do in school to just an attack in the bathroom. We felt charges were justified.”
The boy seen fighting in the video is facing charges of assault, battery, and conspiracy. The boy who filmed the incident and the girl who offered her camera to use in taking video of the fight face juvenile charges of conspiracy.