Five Ed White High School students were arrested Thursday morning after a student was attacked as he entered school.
WJCT News partner News4Jax reports the student was knocked to the ground, punched and kicked. Rescue personnel were called and the victim was hospitalized. The extent of his injuries and other information will not be released due to privacy laws.
A high-definition camera surveillance system recently purchased with funds from the 2018 Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Act captured the entire incident. The video, as well as witness statements, allowed Duval County School Police to identify and arrest the students involved.
Cellphone video of the incident sent to News4Jax by a parent shows at least one student and what appears to be a school employee trying to fend off the attack and help the victim.
The school district has initiated due process proceedings for a level four code of conduct infraction, which could result in expulsion from school.
“Students and families need to know that I will not tolerate behavior on campus that threatens the safety of other students,” Duval School Superintendent Diana Greene said. “We will use every avenue available to us under the code of student conduct and Florida law to ensure student safety.”
The violence occurred while school staff and security personnel were attending to an unrelated incident where a school employee was struck by a vehicle on Old Middleburg Road in front of the school. The victim of that incident was also transported for medical care.