Police are investigating a fight at Akins Early College High School in Austin, Texas, which school officials believe may have been gang-related.
The incident took place in the school cafeteria on 25 August, according to a letter sent to parents and staff by principal Carman De Leon on Tuesday, 1 September. Austin ISD Police launched an investigation the following week.
The students involved were removed from the campus immediately and did not return after the incident, the school said. Those involved have been charged with riot, a Class B misdemeanour under Texas law.
Akins ECHS said it was working with Austin ISD Police “to ensure the safety of our campus community”. The school has not released further details about the investigation or the students charged.
Austin ISD Police to discuss gang activity prevention
A meeting for families, at which Austin ISD Police were due to discuss campus safety and gang activity prevention, has been rescheduled for 17 September. It will now take place alongside the school’s Principal Coffee Chat.
The school said counselling and licensed mental health professionals were being made available to students who may be experiencing “strong emotions related to what they witnessed or heard”.
One Akins junior, who identified herself as Serenity, told local television station FOX 7 that fights were a regular occurrence in the school’s corridors.
“I would actually say pretty often, yeah. It happens regularly,” she said, adding that students sometimes claimed to be members of gangs during confrontations.
Serenity said she did not feel safe when fights broke out and claimed she had once seen a student with a gun, although she said it was not taken out or used.
