This is the shocking moment a huge brawl broke out between more than 30 students and a parent at an Arizona high school.
Dramatic footage shows students punching and kicking each other after the violence erupted on Tuesday.
According to police, the chaos ensued after a parent, formally identified as Willie Smith, 40, showed up at the campus of Tuscon High school to pick up his two sons.
They were reportedly being sent home after a disturbance with another group of students on Monday.
An interim complaint document, obtained by KOLD, said the dad was advised by school staff to exit through the back exit to avoid any further confrontation with fellow students.
But the man allegedly refused and took his sons through the school’s courtyard during lunch break – telling staff that he would resort to violence amid reports that one of the children was being bullied.
According to the document, he said: “If it’s going down, it’s going down here.”
In the courtyard, the trio was reportedly taunted by a group of students before an altercation began.
According to the complaint, Smith’s admitted to fighting with a student, allegedly throwing a series of punches and pinning him to the ground.
The dad, who was later arrested on a felony charge of disrupting an educational institute, claimed that the student had been assaulting his son.
Rosalinda Martinez, the sister of the accused, said that her brother had been released on Tuesday night amid further investigation.
She told the Mail Online: “The judge had seen all the videos and understood the circumstances and told him they could have done things differently and avoid it all.
“I’m sure the kids are going to need some kind of counseling. That was too much trauma. One of my nephews had a concussion.”
Tuscon Police Department now says they are reviewing the case after a slew of footage appeared online of the huge schoolyard bust up.
Footage showed how the violence unfolded before the eyes of shocked campus officers as efforts to deescalate the situation failed.
It is believed that at least 30 students took part in the mass brawl as authorities confirmed that another 15-year-old was facing charges of disorderly conduct-fighting.
The high school was swiftly placed on lockdown for several hours after the incident as the school district addressed the altercation in a statement on Tuesday.
“The school is currently in a safety protocol due to an incident on campus. Tucson Police Department and TUSD School Safety immediately responded and will remain on campus for the remainder of the day to ensure there are no additional issues,” it read.
“All students and staff are safe and the campus should return to its regular class schedule within the hour.”
It came as many parents alleged that authorities had used extreme force – including the use of pepper spray when they arrived on the scene.
In a statement to the Mail Online, Tucson Police denied the use of any such force on the children.
TPD Sergeant Richard Gradillas said: “This incident occurred in a large area of the campus during a busy time of day (lunch hour). The initial information I have indicates that no weapons were brought onto campus by the suspect and no injuries or medical transports have been reported.
“We can confirm no TPD officers used any type of force that including pepper spray, if it was used it was not by our department.”
This story originally appeared on The Sun and has been reproduced here with permission.
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