JEFFERSON PARISH, La. — It was three weeks ago today when fights at John Ehret High School went viral after they were captured on cell phones and shared on social media.
Then, students started talking to us directly. A 15-year-old told us he was sucker punched from behind, knocked unconscious and given a concussion. It was caught on camera.
After those stories aired, parents were outraged and so were school administrators. One called us anonymously and said John Ehret isn’t the only school with a problem, some Jefferson Parish schools have had even more fights.
We filed public records requests to see if that was true.
These are the latest statistics. They include all reported fights from the beginning of the school year through Sept. 26.
If you look at high schools alone, 11 out of the 15 Jefferson Parish high schools reported fights in the first seven weeks of school. John Ehret leads those high schools with 13, followed by Helen Cox with 10 and Higgins with nine.
But if you look at middle schools, the numbers are even higher.
Fifteen middle school reported fights so far this school year. In just the first seven weeks of school, Stella Worley in Westwego and T.H. Harris in Metairie each reported 15 fights. That’s more than two per week on average.
Break it down further to include elementary schools and 27 of them reported fights so far. The school with the biggest problem: Joshua Butler in Westwego with 15.
"It concerns me," says one parent whose child isn't even in high school yet and has already been the victim of a physical attack. "It should have been prevented. these kids have no respect for authority."
That parent didn't want to go on camera for fear her child would be targeted again. Their school is one of those with more than a dozen fights already. In that case, she said she was satisfied with the way the school broke up the fight and disciplined the offenders, but she hopes the schools will become a safer place to learn.
RELATED: 'Your children are not safe at John Ehret': Parents, teachers say fights are out of control
Bottom line, the assertion by a school administrator that some schools have had more fights than John Ehret is true if you include middle schools and elementary schools, but if you’re just looking at high schools, then Ehret has had the most so far this year.
In response to our report, the Jefferson Parish School System released this statement:
"We have 50,000 kids, and fights are an unfortunate reality in every school in America. We've put programs and procedures in place to reduce fights, but also apply consequences when they occur."
The full report on how many fights have occurred at which JP Public Schools can be seen below: