Roanoke City Police tell WFXR News that a William Fleming High School student is facing charges after reportedly getting into a fight with a faculty member.
Officers said the Roanoke Police School Resource Officer assigned to the high school responded to a physical altercation between a student and faculty member just before 11:30 p.m. Wednesday.
The faculty member was treated for a laceration to the face.
The student, a juvenile, was arrested an charged with malicious wounding and disorderly conduct.
A spokesperson for Roanoke City Public Schools confirmed with WFXR News that district officials are investigating an “altercation” at William Fleming High School.
The spokesperson said the district is following appropriate procedures but cannot provide more details since the incident involves a juvenile and since this is “also a personnel matter.”
The video first surfaced Wednesday afternoon that was shot by a student at William Fleming High School in Roanoke of what appears to be a fight between a student and a staff member.
The staff member is reportedly a retired athletic coach at the school and now works in security on campus. Students refer to the staff member as “coach”.
Several students can be heard shouting in the video that appears to have happened in the cafeteria line, while another two adult men can be seen jumping in, in an attempt to get control of the situation.
A student who claims she witnessed the fight said the security guard was trying to get students to get on the right side of the food line, when a student shoved him for telling him to back up. She said the security guard “gently pushed him to get him out of the line because the student was being disrespectful towards him.” She said the student then punched the security guard in the face a few times, and that’s when the fight began.
Individuals have been sharing the pictures and video on social media. At least two members within the religious community in Roanoke have made posts on social media about the incident.
Bishop J.L. Jackson said the following about the incident, “he has been an upstanding gentleman and an iconic figure for young black men for generations within our community. Sadly, today there were students who were more concerned about going viral than they were about being a hero to a hero.”
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