6 Beaufort Co. school incidents in May result in students being petitioned to Family Court
At least six incidents in the last three weeks at Beaufort County schools have resulted in students being petitioned to Family Court, according to police reports.
And, a fight in late April resulted in a school employee being injured after she tried to break up the fight, but she declined to press charges.
On Tuesday, a fight that broke out at Lady’s Island Middle school resulted in one student being petitioned to Family Court. The students, who are not named because they are minors, began arguing in class, according to a Beaufort Police Department report.
A teacher, who was across the classroom helping another student, told police she told the boys to stop. One of the boys allegedly sat down on the other and continued the bickering. The student who continued the argument allegedly slapped the other and a fight broke out.
Both students told police they were not the one to throw the first punch and were only defending themselves. Because the incident took place inside of a classroom, there is no surveillance footage. The mother of the student who was slapped told police she wanted to press charges. The other student was petitioned to Family Court for third-degree assault and battery.
On Monday, a Beaufort High School student was found with a boxcutter knife on campus Monday. The student told police that they had forgotten they had the knife when asked about it. The student was petitioned to Family Court for bringing a weapon to school.
Other incidents included:
▪ On May 13, a student at Beaufort Middle School was petitioned to Family Court for bringing a weapon to campus after being found with a kitchen steak knife in his backpack. The student told police and school officials he had been using the knife to poke a hole in his belt to make another notch in it while waiting for the bus and had put it in his backpack when the bus arrived.
▪ On May 10, at Right Choices, an alternative program for Beaufort County students located in the same building as the district offices, a student was petitioned to Family Court after an incident involving the school’s principal. The school principal was not allowing the student access to the school, police said. The principal allegedly told the student to stop and put out his arm to stop the student from entering.
A school resource officer said in a report that they heard “a slap” and asked the principal whether the student punch(ed) his arm. The principal restrained the student, who was petitioned to Family Court for third-degree assault and battery.
▪ On May 4 at Whale Branch Early College High School, two students were petitioned to Family Court after a fight broke out between a group of kids during dismissal. No injuries were reported, according to a Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office report.
▪ Also on May 4 at at Battery Creek High School, several students were caught up in a fight over a game on social media called “Let’s Play.” One of the students had a scratch and “superficial abrasion” while the other had what “appeared consistent” with injured fingernails and a swollen right hand, the report said. Four students were petitioned to Family Court for third-degree assault and battery.
School employee injured
Meanwhile, on April 27, an employee at Robert Smalls International Academy was injured while trying to break up a fight between two students, according to a report from a school resource officer.
The two female students, police said, had been having “issues” for three weeks and “nothing has been done” about it, the employee told police in the report.
Eventually tension came to a head in a school hallway. They had initially fought one another in the cafeteria and then again in the hallway when the employee stepped in to try to separate them.
The employee told police that no one else, including two teachers who “were just watching,” tried to break the students up. When she was able to break them apart, she lost her balance and was hit in the head, according to a police report. The woman did not know which student had struck her.
After the fight in the hall, one of the students was “agitated” and “yelling” and tried to enter a locked conference room where authorities put the other student. The school resource officer and the principal were able to help the student calm down.
The employee told police she did not want to press charges. The report did not give details on the extent of her injury.
The employee declined a request for comment from The Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette. The school’s principal, Bradley Tarrance, did not respond to a request seeking comment.
Beaufort County School District spokeswoman Candace Bruder has said repeatedly that, per policy, the district does not comment on police investigations or student disciplinary matters.
