Vicious fight between 17-year-old female student, female staff member leads to student's arrest; staffer placed on leave

A 17-year-old female high school student was arrested and a female high school staff member was placed on leave after the pair engaged in a vicious fight this week in a Tallahassee, Florida, school cafeteria that was recorded on cellphone video.

The Leon County Sheriff's Office confirmed the arrest of the student from Lincoln High School, the Tallahassee Democrat reported.

The teen also faces student discipline up to expulsion as part of the district's student code of conduct, the paper reported.

You can view cellphone video of the fight here.

The paper said several students recorded portions of the fight, which commenced around 12:30 p.m. Wednesday during lunchtime. Concerned parents also shared video of the fight on social media, the paper added.

Leon County School District officials told the paper the fight began after a student attacked a hall monitor and took her phone.

The video of the fight shows a large crowd of students in the cafeteria surrounding a woman and a student wrestling on the ground, the paper said, adding that the woman appears to kick the student off her. Several students manage to break up the fight, pulling the pair apart, the paper said, but as the student walks away, the woman searches for the student, finds her, and re-engages in the fight, pulling the student's hair while the student punches the woman. School officials confirmed to the paper that the video shows the end of the fight.

The student was arrested and taken to the Leon Juvenile Detention Center, the paper said, adding that she was charged with attempted robbery by sudden snatching and battery of a school official, both of which are felonies.

"We are still reviewing the video, and it is still very much an open investigation," LCSO communications director Shonda Knight added to the paper.

The teen also faces student discipline up to expulsion as part of the district's student code of conduct, the paper reported.

The school staff member is on leave pending the outcome of the investigation, the paper said.

Assistant Principal Jennifer Tibbitts emailed parents through the school system's FOCUS portal at 1:50 p.m. Thursday to inform them of the fight, the paper noted.

"Today at lunch there was an incident involving a student and staff member. Other school staff and our school resource officers responded immediately. This incident is being investigated by Leon County Sheriff's office and will be handled accordingly," the message said, according to the paper.

Leon County Sheriff Walt McNeil, Schools Superintendent Rocky Hanna, and school board members had announced Wednesday — prior to the fight — a tour of district high schools to discuss safety and security concerns with students, the paper said, adding that a visit to Lincoln High was scheduled for Friday. The status of that visit in light of the fight was not clear.

This story has been updated to reflect that a staff member engaged in the fight with the student. The original headline and first paragraph said it was a teacher.

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