School has ‘fighting culture’ — parent
Concern after Taser-like weapon used by students during attack
ANorthland parent has raised the alarm after a video appeared to show a Dargaville High School student being assaulted with a homemade Taser.
The parent, who wished to remain anonymous, said the video reflects an ongoing fighting culture within the school that has left her teenagers feeling unsafe.
Police said they were investigating the incident and allegations of a “homemade Taser or stun gun-type device” and the school was working through its own processes.
A Dargaville High School spokesperson said the incident which occurred last Thursday was isolated and it was working through its pastoral care process to resolve the issue in partnership with whānau, the school community and police.
However, the parent said the school’s response felt like it had swept the issue under the rug and the school community was unaware of how serious the incident was.
A video which the Advocate has seen shows five students approaching a single student who could be heard saying “I don’t care!”.
The student then throws the first punch before another steps forward and hits them. Multiple other students then join in before one student pulls out what looks to be a homemade Taser from their waistband.
The student then falls to the floor during which the Taser is audible and five other students are seen kicking them. The Taser is swapped between two students.
The fight is then broken up, and the Taser can be seen being handed to the other student again before he tucks it back into his waistband.
The mother said she had approached the school about the incident on Thursday but did not receive a response.
Her children showed her the video which was circulating on social media and told her fights occur “nearly every day” at the school.
Dargaville High School said it was confident the incident was isolated.
“We are aware of an incident between students which took place
on school grounds last week. We believe every student has the right to be safe in school, and work extremely hard to ensure this,” the school said in a statement.
“We encourage our school community to report any incidents of violence online, as this type of behaviour is not entertainment and is certainly not condoned in the Dargaville High School environment. Student wellbeing and safety remains our priority.”
Parents received a letter about the incident on Monday afternoon after the Advocate approached the school.
The email from principal Michael Houghton stated there were a “number of incidents” at the school with one “major incident” taking place on Thursday. Houghton wrote in the email that one student was assaulted by a group of students over several year levels.
He said the school has taken action against the students who committed the assault.
“Currently these students are not at school and we are working through our school policies to deal with the incident,” he said .
“We are assisting the student who was assaulted and their family where we can.
“The safety of all students is paramount and we have implemented strategies to help them cope with the incident.”
The mother said she was “disgusted” by the incident and said the letter did not address “how bad it was”.
“A kid was brutally attacked and there was a weapon involved,” she said.
“I feel like if all the parents knew what actually went on, there would be a huge uproar.”
The parent said her children had told her there had been several incidents where students had taken weapons to school. The mother said her two children had expressed feeling overwhelmed by the fighting culture within the school, and had said if it weren’t for the cost of living crisis she would consider moving schools.
“I understand there are fights in every school. But there gets a point where, what’s next, are they going to start shooting up the school?”.
The mother sympathised with the school which was suffering like many others due to understaffing, however, believed more needed to be done to stop the fighting.
“I never, ever thought this would ever happen in our schools in New Zealand,” she said. “The community needs to be made aware.”
The mother said she had heard the student had sustained injuries that sent him to hospital.
The school did not respond to the
Advocate’s enquiries about the level of injury suffered by the victim.
Police said they were called to a report of fighting at the school last Thursday.
“Police are investigating an allegation that a homemade taser or stun gun-type device was used during the incident.
“At this stage, no arrests have been made and the school are also dealing with the incident internally.”