30 Students Suspended or Expelled in Massive Hawthorne High School Fight
ABC 7 (Hawthorne), November 12, 2015
Hawthorne High School administrators focused on restoring peace and order Thursday in the wake of a violent brawl on Tuesday.
By the estimate of a Hawthorne Police Lieutenant about 200 to 300 students joined in multiple fights that just seemed to spread.
“I seen girls on girls, guys hitting girls,” student Cameron Graham said.
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On Thursday, 30 students were identified, suspended and, in some cases, permanently expelled. Three others were arrested for felony assaults on officers, where one was kicked in the head.
Since Tuesday’s brawl, social media posts have popped up threatening more trouble. A mother, who did not want to be identified, blamed lax discipline at the school.
“It is No. 1 in truancy. It’s No. 1 in drugs. It’s No. 1 in violence,” she said.
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Thirty-two school security officers and staff from the district office were deployed to keep the peace. The deployment will last at least until the Thanksgiving break.
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About the cause of the violence, school officials said though it appears race played a role in how the fights spread, they don’t know if race was behind the first punch that was thrown.
[Editor’s Note: Hawthorne High School is 75 percent Hispanic, 16 percent black, 3 percent Asian, and 2 percent white.]
