Three students suspended in fire drill brawl incident

Three Lorain High School staff members were hurt and three students are recommended for expulsion after brawling after a fire drill Oct. 17, according to the school district.

The staff members were assessed by the Lorain High school nurse and did not request additional medical attention, according to a statement from Lorain City Schools Communications Coordinator Sara Egan-Reeves.

The statement described what happened.

On Oct. 17, students and staff had a successful fire drill and were filing back into the building, according to the statement.

As they were re-entering the building, “a physical altercation occurred between three (Lorain High School) students on the second floor of the building.”

“In the course of breaking up the altercation, three members of the (Lorain High School) teaching staff were injured,” according to the school district.

The students involved were boys in grades 10, 11 and 12. They reported no injuries due to the altercation.

The school district statement did not name the staff members.

Teachers reported having back pain, a jammed finger and an eye bruise, said Eric Bonzar, marketing and communications coordinator for the school district.

The high school has security officers who usually respond to student fights.

However, they were directing students and staff back into the high school, so the staff members were the first ones available to break up the altercation on the second floor, said EganReeves and Bonzar.

The three students were suspended and have been recommended for expulsion.

On Oct. 18, disciplinary hearings were in process of being scheduled, EganReeves said.

“The Lorain City School district will not tolerate behavior that is in such opposition of our core values, especially during important events such as safety drills,” Egan-Reeves said in the statement. “We commend the leadership and staff for handling the situation and ensuring the safety of all.”

Meanwhile, an online rumor has circulated about a Lorain High School window broken due to a fight.

That rumor is untrue, Egan-Reeves and Bonzar said.

This week, a photo was posted online about a broken window on the first floor of Lorain High.

Daniel Garvey, executive director of secondary academies at Lorain High, emailed staff to report there was no indication that a person or people fighting broke the window, which will be replaced.

“We have reviewed the film footage from the interior and exterior views, and have found no evidence of human action,” Garvey said in the staff email.