Two 12-year-old girls have been arrested and another preteen is being sought in connection with a caught-on-video assault on a student and a teacher at a Moreno Valley school last week, the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department announced Monday.
The fight took place last Wednesday morning on the campus of Sunnymead Middle School, at 23996 Eucalyptus Ave, according to a sheriff’s news release.
It was filmed and the footage was subsequently posted online.
The video appears to show at least female students hitting each other inside a classroom while others, including an adult, tried to break up the altercation.
Investigators later said that three 12-year-old girls entered a classroom and assaulted both the victim and the teacher, according to the release.
No significant injuries were reported.
On Friday, two of the juveniles were taken into custody and booked into Riverside County Juvenile Hall on suspicion of battery. The third girl has not yet been apprehended, the department said.
None of the girls were identified due to their ages.
The on-campus fight and subsequent arrests came just weeks after a high-profile attack at another middle school in the Moreno Valley Unified School District left a 13-year-old student dead.
Diego Stolz died nine days after bystander video showed him being assaulted by two classmates. He was hit twice in the face, including a blow to one side of his head that caused him to fall and hit his head against a pillar, according to the footage.
Two 13-year-old boys have been charged with voluntary manslaughter.
Diego’s death prompted a heated outcry among students and parents who allege the district hasn’t done enough to prevent bullying and violence at its schools.
Parents pointed out to KTLA last week that the two incidents were just some of the many recorded and posted on social media. And students also said that fights were common at Sunnymead.
Superintendent Martinrex Kedziora addressed the recent rash of violence at a news conference last Thursday.
“I want the Moreno Valley community to hear me loud and hear my clear when I say that what I’ve seen and what we’ve all seen in those videos is absolutely unacceptable,” Kedziora said. “I want to assure you that the images and the videos you are seeing are not true representatives of the Moreno Valley Unified School District.”