Teenage girl fatally beaten in Delaware high school restroom in apparent fight over a boy
Mary Papenfuss
A Delaware community was left reeling after a teenage girl
was fatally beaten by multiple students in the restroom of a high school
just as morning classes were getting underway.
The fatal fight, reportedly over a boy, occurred in the main-floor restroom at Howard High School of Technology in Wilmington.
news station that the confrontation was over a boy, and the victim was
fighting with another student when she was "jumped" by a group of girls.
"She was fighting a girl, and then that's when all these
other girls started banking her, like, jumping her, and she hit her head
on the sink," a witness told an ABC reporter.
Gary Fullman, chief of staff to the Wilmington mayor, told
:
"There was an altercation that initially started between two people,
and my understanding is that additional individuals joined in against
the one person."
There was information on Twitter that some witnesses may
have recorded the fight on their cell phones and did not step up to
protect the girl.
The victim, in critical condition, was given CPR on the scene by
paramedics, and was airlifted by state police helicopter to A.I. DuPont
Hospital for Children, where she was later pronounced dead, police said.
Several students are being investigated as persons of interest in the
attack, and two girls have been taken to police headquarters.
"My heart's broken," said a tearful Mayor Dennis Williams at
a press conference. "I am so upset that a young lady lost her life
today. Things like this shouldn't happen. My heart bleeds for the
family, the kids that go to this school, administrators and our city. In
this moment we should all come together to work collectively to address
the serious needs of our youth."
The school district
superintendent called the death an "unbelievable tragedy" — but insisted
the school is "safe." According to district statistics, there were
seven violent felonies and 14 instances of fighting or disorderly
conduct in 2015 at the high school, which has 925 students.
The victim was described as an open, friendly girl. "I feel bad for the people who have known her for years," said a friend.
Neighborhood activist Beverly Bell said schools must be protected by adults as safe places for children.
"We've
gotta have people in place to watch over our children, because when a
parent sends a child to school, it's not to get a phone call that their
child won't be coming home," she told the News Journal.
State Senator Rose Henry noted the death on the floor of the
legislature, saying that schools "should be a sanctuary for our students
from the madness of the outside world."
She
added: "We pray for this beautiful young soul and her family. We pray
for the Howard High School community. And we pray for a city that has
lost too many of its young people at the hands of senseless violence."
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