A teen boy is recovering and several high school students are in custody after a fight at Chester High School.
Police say five students beat up a 16-year-old boy in the school’s library on Tuesday. The entire attack was captured on cell phone video by another student and posted on Facebook. During the attack, the students repeatedly kick the teen and hit him with chairs before fleeing the scene. The victim was taken to the hospital and treated before being released.
Warning: The following video contains strong language and violent images
Police say a student who witnessed the fight came forward and contacted them Tuesday night. Police eventually obtained the cell phone video and used it in their investigation.
On Wednesday, police arrested five teens who they say were involved in the attack. Omar Davis, 19, Citerrah Gomillon, 16, Jordan Morales, 16, Clayton Newman, 18, and Edward Stanley, 18, were all charged as adults. All five teens are charged with simple assault, aggravated assault, terroristic threats and other related offenses. Each teen is behind held on $100,000 bail.
Sources close to the investigation tell NBC10's Nefertiti Jaquez that Davis threw the first punch, Morales picked up a chair and slammed the victim's back, Newman repeatedly kicked and punched him before taking his cell phone while Gomillon kicked the victim after he was already knocked unconscious.
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The source also says that Stanley is the teen who recorded the fight and posted the video on Facebook. While Stanley isn't seen attacking the victim, investigators say he did nothing to stop the fight and could be heard laughing throughout.
“To the parents of our students, our first priority and first concern following the arrests is to ensure the security of all of our attending students,” said Joe Watkins, superintendent of the Chester Upland School District.
Police say more arrests could happen.
Despite the arrests, many are wondering why it appears there were no teachers or supervisors present during the fight and why the attack wasn't broken up immediately. Detectives are now investigating whether the school followed procedure when it comes to notifying police about an assault.
"The protocol is now being examined," said Chester Police Commissioner Joe Bail. "That's a part of the investigation."
