Gwinnett County high school principal apologizes, asks students for video of fight
LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. - A Gwinnett County high school is asking anyone with video of a fight between two freshmen that involved a pencil to come forward.
Mountain View High School Principal Keith Chaney said in a letter on Friday after he said his initial message on Thursday "did not accurately describe the severity of the incident," but explained the school district and police are continuing to investigate. One of the ninth-graders in the fight told school officials they had a mechanical pencil during the altercation.
The student with the pencil faces charges and the school district plans to file disciplinary action against both students.
Police and school officials are working to determine if it's the pencil that sent the one student to the hospital.
"After reviewing videos and talking to other witnesses, it is clear that one student in the fight wounded the other student with an object that caused his injuries," Chaney wrote. "The student who was arrested told us that the object was a mechanical pencil he had in his possession. We are still trying to determine what caused the other student's injuries. Our investigation info this mater continues, as does the police investigation. If your child has video of this incident that might assist with this investigation, please share it with us."
Chaney said on Thursday school officials told students to erase videos of the fight from social media.
Chaney apologized for initially stating a student "poked" the other with a pencil.
"As we tell our students, the words we use matter," Chaney said. "The words I used yesterday were not the right words. Though I never intended to mislead our community, the words I chose to describe the incident have proven inaccurate as we have gathered further information."
In the same letter, Chaney said students saw a classmate's blood on the floor.
It's not clear what led up to the argument and ensuing fight.