Tennessee students brawl, tear down flag, jump on police car during walkout protest
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) – In the midst of many peaceful walkouts on Wednesday protesting gun violence in the wake of the Parkland, Florida shooting, chaos broke out at Antioch High School.
Videos and photos shared on Facebook showed what appears to be water bottles thrown into crowds, unruly behavior, even what appears to be students tearing down an American flag from a pole, before an adult is able to get hold of it.
Students spoke with WISH-TV’s sister station WKRN about how some students even jumped on a police car.
They added how the day’s turn of events has been disappointing, especially for students like them, who want to see change after the Parkland tragedy.
Metro Nashville Public Schools sent us the following statement in response to the incident:
At MNPS, we respect the right of our students to advocate for causes that are important to them. Unfortunately, some students on our Antioch campus today chose to protest in ways that significantly disrupted school operations and threatened the safety and order for other students and staff within our school. Swift action was taken by school security and MNPD to address the situation. No students or staff members were injured during the walkout.
The safety of our students and staff is our top priority. Inappropriate behaviors that threaten school safety will be handled immediately and firmly in accordance with the Student Code of Conduct and MNPD.
We understand that our students may be feeling lots of emotions, including anxiety, fear and even anger about today’s events. We encourage parents to talk to your child(ren) about how they may be feeling, and the importance of expressing themselves in appropriate ways while at school. MNPS also has counselors available and ready to talk to students at any time. We look forward to welcoming students back tomorrow for a great day of teaching and learning.
A spokesperson for Metro Nashville Police tells us they’re in the process of figuring out how many people were involved in the incident and if they’ll charged.