ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. — Riverview Gardens High School officials, parents and community partners are searching for answers after a series of fights broke out again at the school, resulting in police intervention and a school lockdown.
Parent-teacher conferences were also canceled and will be rescheduled next week.
St. Louis County police said they were called to Riverview Gardens High School at about 1 p.m. Thursday to break up a series of active fights happening across campus.
Parent Victoria Smith said witnessing a lot of it has been hard on her kids.
“It discourages them from getting up every morning because they don't know what they're going to face in a day at Riverview Gardens High School,” Smith said.
Police said three teens were taken into custody and later released to their parents, and one was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Smith said all of the students are going through a lot right now as similar fights canceled homecoming festivities at the school just weeks ago.
“We got some trauma that we got to deal with. We have some trauma that we need to address and the support of Ungun has been wonderful. I've heard a lot of great ideas that we can offer to Riverview Gardens School District,” Smith said.
UnGun Institute Owner and Founder Marty K. Casey said she wants to work with the school district, parents and students to make it a better place for everyone.
“We want to hear from them. I think that's the only way we're going to get to the bottom of what is really happening, how individuals are feeling. So we know how to deal with it,” Casey said.
Casey said she wants to bring the community back together.
“We call that the triangle effect at UnGun Institute, and that's where the parents are up top,” Casey said. "These are the homes. And then we have the schools and we have the support of the community. The child is safely in the center, but when these things are not connecting, the child can fall out. That's what we're seeing happening right now,."
A spokesperson for the Riverview Gardens School District said in a statement, “Riverview Gardens High School and Riverview Gardens School District are working diligently to address the incidents of fighting at Riverview Gardens High School. We are working to put measures in place to provide appropriate outlets and supports for scholars and staff. The safety of scholars and staff is a top priority.”
The UnGun Institute is hosting a Zoom chat on Friday where parents of Riverview Gardens students can talk about what's going on starting at 5 p.m. You can email info@unguninstitute.com to get the link.
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