Violence erupts at School of Peace

This story appeared in the Antelope Valley Press March 21, 2001.

By BART WEITZEL
Valley Press Staff Writer

LAKE LOS ANGELES - Challenger Middle School - dubbed the "School of Peace" after last year's Increase the Peace Day - erupted with several acts of violence in recent days.

Two schoolyard assaults and an after-school beating at a bus stop Friday were attributed to eight or more students, ranging in age from 12 to 14. Seven of those students have been arrested and two have been placed in Barry J. Nidorf Juvenile Hall in Sylmar.

On April 20, about 700 Challenger students held hands to form a giant human peace symbol and signed a "peace pledge" containing 15 separate vows against activity that spawns hatred and violence.

Among those pledges was a vow to not hit another human being.

The "Increase the Peace Day" was in response to the one-year anniversary of the deadly Columbine High School shootings on April 20, 1999, where two teenagers killed 12 fellow students and a teacher before committing suicide.

"We are the school of peace," Principal Kevin Wassner said in an interview Tuesday. "We had 700 kids holding hands, forming a peace sign and we're not going to let about eight or a dozen kids break that peace sign."

The first of three assaults happened about 9:15 a.m. Friday while students were having a midmorning snack. Two students got involved in a fight and three other students jumped into the fray on one side.

"Basically, it ended up being a four-on-one assault," said investigating Deputy Wade Young.

The four attacking students included a 12-year-old and three 13-year-olds. The victim was a 14-year-old boy. He suffered a fat lower lip as a result of the scuffle.

"There was instantly staff members right on it, breaking it up and separating everyone," Wassner said.

The four attackers were all sent home, and Monday - after speaking to the parties involved - the four were arrested on suspicion of battery and one was booked for assault with a deadly weapon for kicking the victim.

A second schoolyard assault occurred a short time later, but details of that incident are still being investigated.

Finally, Friday afternoon as students were on their way home, violence broke out at a school bus stop at 168th Street East and Coolwater Avenue.

According to Young, two students were walking home from the bus stop when they noticed they were being followed by other students.

They shortly found themselves surrounded and confronted by five of their classmates. One of the attacking boys, a 13-year-old, allegedly took a chain - which Young described as a dog's choke collar - from around his neck and wrapped it around his hand.

Young said the 14-year-old victim thought he was going to be punched with the chain, but instead, the attacker swung the end of the chain, striking the victim on the top of the head.

"On Saturday, when I talked to the victim, he had a pretty good knot on top of his head where he was hit with the chain," Young said.

The victim's friend, who had been walking with him, ran for help while the other four attackers allegedly started punching and kicking the victim.

Four of the five attackers from that assault were arrested Monday.

The 12-year-old suspect from the day's schoolyard fight also was involved in the bus stop incident. He and the boy who allegedly swung the chain were booked for assault with a deadly weapon and taken to juvenile hall in Sylmar.

The remaining students arrested in both incidents were ticketed and released into the custody of their parents.

Michael Mandero, father of the boy attacked at the bus stop, said his son was targeted by the group because he is a "skater."

"These kids in the middle school are forming gangs along racial lines," Mandero said. "I think the school and the police handled it the right way. The ones that did the actual assaulting were arrested and the ones that did the assault were expelled, but there's still the underlying racial issue that needs to be dealt with."

Wassner said that there is no evidence yet that the attacks involved racial motivations, but the school and the Sheriff's Department are looking at it.

"Do I think it's racially motivated? We're exploring it. We're not going to ignore the possibility," he said. "Is it possible? Absolutely, but we don't know that right now."

Wassner and the school board conducted a meeting Monday night and explained the situation to parents. Wassner said some parents at the meeting said the attacks were racially motivated, but others disagreed.

"There were people at the board meeting who stood up and said, `This isn't about race. This is about a group of kids that just decided to get violent,' " he said.

In the end, parents came forward to volunteer any help they could to lend the school and the students. One of the plans that came out of the meeting is for parents to form a community action committee, and other parents have volunteered time to watch students at school and in transit.

Wassner vowed that the school would retain its reputation as the school of peace.

"Like I said at the board meeting, `I won't take responsibility for starting the problem, but I will take responsibility for solving it,' " he said.