'It just made me sad. It made me want to cry': Parents react to viral video of violence at Medway H.S.
CTV
Medway High School in Arva, Ont. is dealing with a rash of violent incidents this week that have taken a life of their own on social media.
Medway High School in Arva, Ont. is dealing with a rash of violent incidents this week that have taken a life of their own on social media.
“My first reaction was sick to my stomach feeling and just really sad,” says concerned parent Jaime Burnham.
Principal of Medway, Greg Howard, says there were several incidents that occurred within the span of about two days that involved physical altercations between students off of school property, and a threat to the school Tuesday evening.
“The threat that came in to the school was investigated that night. The OPP investigated it. We let the police know as soon as we knew about it, and then the police attended the school all day Wednesday to help us with the investigation.”
Several videos were shared online of the physical altercations, depicting fights between students, and in one case a disturbing image of a student being kicked in the head while lying on the ground.
This, according to the school, led to many rumours that quickly spread online.
“So that was one of the biggest hurdles for us is dealing with the social media piece of it. The rumour mill that was started in the last couple of days just spiralled out of control in the sense that somebody put something on social media, the students responded, creates panic and anxiety which then feeds into the rumour mill.”