A mother is accused of fighting students in a gymnasium prior to the start of the school day in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, late last month.
The incident took place around 7 a.m. Aug. 22 at IDEA Bridge, WAFB-TV reported, while students were waiting for classes to start after their morning bus ride to campus.
‘I feel like when my child goes to school that her life is in their hands. So this makes me very, very, very worried to know that no one was there all that time that this was going on.’
Jah’n’que Brown, a junior at the school, told the station she was defending herself from another student, that student’s sister — and that student’s mother.
“She’s threatening her and saying, ‘Oh, let’s go outside and fight, come on, we’re gonna fight,’ stuff like that,” Jah’n’que recalled to WAFB, adding that soon after “everything just starts popping off. And I get hit.”
Baton Rouge police responded to the incident, but the department has not yet completed its investigation, the station said, adding that charges are pending. Corp. Saundra Watts confirmed to WAFB that a mother was let into the school through a door near the gymnasium and that she participated in the altercation.
Jah’n’que’s mother, Yakisha Brown, told the station she’s worried about her children’s safety at school and isn’t happy: “There was a whole lot of lives involved in that, and I feel it’s unjust, it’s just not right.”
WAFB said it reached out to IDEA Public Schools and asked what security measures are in place and whether any security guards or staff members are responsible in such cases. The station said Director of Communications Rebecca Suarez responded with this statement: “IDEA Bridge is aware of an incident that took place at our campus. We received reports that a physical altercation involving a parent took place. Appropriate staff were on site to respond to the incident. Duty personnel and administrators were able to diffuse [sic] the situation and remove the parent from the campus. All students and staff are safe. The campus partnered with local law enforcement in the investigation.”
Jah’n’que added to WAFB that no one in authority was present at the time the fighting began: “Nobody was in there. No teachers, no administration. We’re in the gym at the time, and they’re supposed to be in the gym. They’re supposed to be watching us, everyone. They’re supposed to be coming in the gym, and they’re supposed to be there before we even get in there. We were there for, like, a good five minutes. I’m not even gonna lie, like, students were trying to stop it, yeah, but … no administration or anything like that was there.”
The station added that the IDEA Public Schools website indicates says all campuses are closed, meaning visitors can enter only through main doors. WAFB also said it asked if the mother or the students are facing consequences, but the station said it has not yet received a response.
Brown noted to the station that she’s hoping for drastic changes in IDEA Bridge’s security and safety protocol: “I feel like when my child goes to school that her life is in their hands. So this makes me very, very, very worried to know that no one was there all that time that this was going on.”
– YouTube
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High school, Louisiana, Mother, Mom fights students, Gymnasium, Watch, Baton rouge, Charges pending, Police investigation, Idea bridge, Crime
