Lee Co. School District responds to cell phone video showing a high school fight

By Julie Salomone

CREATED Feb. 20, 2013

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  • School District responds to fight caught on cell phone video. Video by fox4now.com

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FORT MYERS, Fla.- A fight breaks out at South Fort Myers High School last week and a parent of a student involved in the fight claims she warned school officials of a potential fight before it happened.

Tonette Murph says her 15-year-old daughter took several blows to the face after an altercation at South Fort Myers High School. The fight happened last Friday and 6 students involved have not been allowed to return to school since.

"I don't know what they were fighting about, they are kids. Friends one day and fighting the next. I don't care about that," said Murph. 

Tonette says shes upset because the school failed to take action after she warned school officials about a potential fight the day it happened. A student shot cell phone video which shows a crowd gathered in the hallway and girls swinging at each other. 
 
"What I care about is I contacted the school as a concerned parent telling them about a potential fight and to pull my daughter out and the school neglected to do that." 
 
Just hours after our initial story aired, Tonette said she got a call from a school official Tuesday night.
 
"She called to let me know she didn't forget about me and wanted to touch basis with me and she would call me today to do a report on the incident."
 
"Did you hear from her?" I asked. 
 
"No, I did not," said Murph. 
 
Why didn't school administration take Tonette's concerns seriously? A district spokesman says if Tonette's daughter had concerns she should have spoke to school officials. The spokesman says there were 3 assistant principals in the lunchroom right before the fight happened. So who started the fight? The district tells me 6 students were involved and there was enough blame to go around. 
 
"I just want justice for my daughter. I feel school system failed her. They did not protect her."
 
Tonette says her daughter has a school hearing on Friday. Potential consequences for last week's fight will be addressed then.