Big fight at Orange High School sets social media ablaze

A big fight during lunch at Orange High School on Tuesday had social media abuzz for much of the afternoon.

Orange County Schools spokesman Seth Stephens didn’t know what caused the fight but said it involved fewer than 12 students.

No weapons were involved, and there were no injuries reported that required medical transport, he said.

He said extra security measures were put in place, but he stopped short of calling them a “lockout” or “lockdown.”

During a lockout, no one is allowed in or out of a school but instruction continues. That’s different than from a “lockdown,” in which and students and staff are told to lock classroom doors until the threat has passed.

Stephens refuted social-media rumors that the fight was gang-related or that a student was stabbed during the melee.

“It was a regular hand-to-hand fight,” he said. “No one was taken into custody.”

Two school resource officers were on duty, he added.

He said the school returned to normal operation shortly after the lunch period ended.

“Everything calmed down pretty quickly,” Stephens said.

Parents and staff members were notified about the fight via robo call and email.

Area school districts, parents, students and law enforcement agencies have been on alert since the school shooting in Parkland, Florida, where 17 students and teachers were killed and 14 others suffered injuries, five life-threatening, when the accused shooter, 19-year-old former student Nikolas Cruz, allegedly pulled a fire alarm to draw students out of classrooms at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.

The concern about guns on school campuses hit home in a big way at Glenn Elementary School on Monday when Durham County sheriff’s deputies confiscated a gun from a student. The student said he didn’t realize the gun was hidden in the pocket of the jacket he grabbed when he left for school.

And last week, Hillside High School, Shepard Middle School and W.G. Pearson Elementary and Fayetteville Street Elementary schools were placed on lockout after shots were heard near the schools.

Eno Valley Elementary School, Carrington Middle School and Northern High School were also placed on lockout last week after authorities received a report about students running near the schools who possibly had a gun. Police officers investigating the call found truants but no gun.

Law enforcement officials are also investigating a rash of school shooting threats made on social media and directed at schools across North Carolina.

School districts where threats have been reported since the weekend include Burke, Cleveland, Gates, Harnett, Hyde, Nash, Pasquotank, Pitt, Wayne and Wilson counties. It appears one version of a threatening post is being reproduced and shared across the state.

This story was originally published February 21, 2018 at 6:00 AM with the headline "Big fight at Orange High School sets social media ablaze."