CORAL GABLES, FLA. (WSVN) - A student at Coral Gables High School said her friend and classmate was beaten and put in a chokehold by another student in the student parking lot during a confrontation that was captured on video.
The video of Thursday morning’s violent encounter, later posted to social media, shows one of the students repeatedly hitting the other in the head.
But in a new twist to the incident, a spokesperson for Miami-Dade County Public Schools on Friday said the two teens involved in the scuffle, ages 15 and 17, are friends and were so close that they even had sleepovers.
That is no consolation for a high school senior who spoke with 7News on Friday. She said the 17-year-old seen lying on the ground is her friend.
The senior said she was browsing her Instagram page when she saw the video showing her friend being beaten.
“It was heartbreaking. I started crying, because he’s so innocent and did not deserve that at all,” she said.
During the altercation, the 15-year-old student is seen tackling the 17-year-old and putting him in a chokehold before striking him in the head over and over.
“It was devastating, like, the other fights are nothing, but when it’s someone that I know, someone that comes to me and talks to me, someone that I have a connection with, it broke my heart,” said the senior.
The aggressor is also seen stomping the head of the 17-year-old and kicking him in the side.
“There was no staff or teachers around. The fight was over a minute long,” said the senior. “I shouldn’t be going to school and feeling scared that something might happen.”
The student also said fights have become common on campus, and there’s even an Instagram page devoted to sharing videos of them. The page reads, “Follow for CGHS fights.”
The senior said she wants that page and others she believes glorify fighting and bullying taken down.
“I will speak up for what I believe is right, and I feel like, if nobody else is going to do something, then I will,” she said.
The senior described her friend as a kind and gentle person.
“He’s literally one of the most sweetest, most humble persons,” she said.
The 17-year-old was left with cuts and bruises. Her friend said she’s just thankful the outcome wasn’t worse.
“My friend could have been killed. It’s crazy to think that if it would have kept on going, he probably wouldn’t even be here today,” she said.
The M-DCPS spokesperson issued a statement that reads, “Miami-Dade County Public Schools is aware of a physical altercation between two students at Coral Gables Senior High School. The incident was immediately addressed by the school’s administration and Miami-Dade Schools Police. M-DCPS remains committed to promoting a safe learning environment for all students.”
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