Northrop parent company expresses concern after reports of fighting on Thursday

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WPTA) – Reports are circulating on social media about a large brawl at Northrop High School.

The school was locked down on Thursday afternoon, and many parents were wondering if their children were OK.

“Someone had put out a notice saying Northrop High School was on lockdown, and the parking lot was full of police officers,” said Kimberly Hodle. Her son is a freshman at Northrop High School.

She immediately called the school – her son's phone was locked in a Yondr bag. “I was like, 'Can you please tell me if my son is OK?'” Hodle explains.

She says her son was heading to class when chaos broke out. “He came out of the bathroom as they were walking down the hall and they just ran over him like he wasn't even there,” Hodle says.

Her son was unharmed, but a Northrop teacher sent a message to parents saying she and other teachers were “seriously injured when the mob of students ran through us.”

Hodle says that message was later retracted. What followed was another message from Northrop's director, who tried to reassure worried families.

Hodle says the students involved need to be held accountable. She says, “Go back and look at the cameras. You can clearly see everyone who was involved in that fight. Throw them out.”

We sent these questions to Fort Wayne Community Schools and received the following answers:

• Were teachers injured?
  • We cannot disclose medical information about individual employees, but no one was seriously injured.
• What punishments, if any, did the students have to expect?
  • FWCS follows the Code of Conduct and cannot discuss disciplinary actions against individual students.
• What steps is the district taking to ensure this does not happen again?
  • Fort Wayne Community Schools works with students at all grade levels on skills they need for success in life, including conflict management and self-regulation. As part of the SAFER Schools referendum, we hired student advocates and licensed therapists. Additionally, in high schools, we partner with Alive Community Outreach to support our schools with the Peacemaker Academy.

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