Did a parent participate in a middle-school fight? Mother says she wants justice

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – A fight between middle school students is caught on cell phone video.

It happens as a group of students are gathered outside of the Myrtle Grove K-8 School in Miami Gardens on Friday. The kids were waiting to be picked up when the middle-school melee broke out.

The student in the video wearing a dark blue jacket is the 13-year-old daughter of Tiphany Thomas. The video shows another student in a green jacket starting to punch her. Thomas’ daughter strikes back. Thomas said as she ran toward the crowd, her daughter’s attackers drove off.

“I’m like, ‘what is going on?’ She was like, ‘Mom, they just jumped me,’ " Thomas told Local 10 News.

While the fight between students on school grounds is bad enough, Thomas said, she noticed while watching the cell phone video that a parent of another child is holding her daughter down and at one point, the adult strikes her daughter.

“She jumped out of her vehicle and grabbed my daughter and restrained her while striking her in the head along with the other assailant,” Thomas said.

The mother said that since the incident happened on school grounds, she has reached out to the district to find out more about what is being done to hold the parent accountable for her actions.

Thomas said that nearly a week has passed and she said she is still searching for answers.

“Who is the detective on the case? Who is going to reach out to me? Who is going to arrest the parent?” Thomas said she wants to know.

Local 10 News received a statement from the school district.

“Miami-Dade County Public Schools works tirelessly to cultivate a respectful and safe learning environment for students. We remind parents to do their part by acting responsibly and serving as good role models for their children.”

Officials said they have been in constant contact with Thomas. As for the children involved, they have been reprimanded according to the school code and have been suspended from classes.

Police said they are still investigating the incident and no arrests have been made.


About the Author

Roy Ramos joined the Local 10 News team in 2018. Roy is a South Florida native who grew up in Florida City. He attended Christopher Columbus High School, Homestead Senior High School and graduated from St. Thomas University.

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