The past week has seen multiple incidents of violence at Fredericton and Oromocto High Schools.
Some events have been confirmed by school officials and police, while others have been embellished by social media posts.
Some parents have removed their children from the classroom over the past two weeks leading to yet another interruption in a school year that was finally resembling normalcy.
On November 23, a series of incidents took place outside Oromocto High School culminating in two students receiving injuries when one pulled out a knife and slashed them.
A series of videos of the incident have been circulating online showing a girl being beaten, taking out a knife, and stabbing the attacker in the leg.
Later, the girl who was stabbed is lying facedown on the ground and another student stomps on her head.
For about three minutes, the fight rages on without any intervention by school staff or authorities.
Oromocto High School Principal, Kevin Inch, said to CBC that the incident had been dealt with and, “student safety is not at risk.”
RCMP later issued a statement that a teenage girl was arrested in connection with the incident, charged, and released to her parents.
That same day, at Fredericton High School, there was a Facebook post describing an incident of about 40 teenagers taunting and attacking another student, leaving him bleeding on the ground.
This incident turned out to be not true. The reported swarm was instead a fight between two boys with about 16 onlookers.
Fredericton Principal, Stephanie Tomlinson, said that the fallout from often inaccurate social media posts is taking a toll on staff.
While incidents of violence are certainly real on campus, social media can amplify the problem and contribute to an atmosphere of fear among students and parents.
Parents are concerned that this is the latest escalation in a series of fights that have been ongoing since the beginning of the school year.
The next day, Fredericton High School brought in police to patrol the hallways of the school after receiving reports that there was potential for violence at that school.
Many concerned parents opted to pull children from both Oromocto and Fredericton High Schools on this day with some questioning why not revert to online learning in the short-term while the threats of violence are sorted out.
With consistent violence in local schools, parents and students remain on edge.
Police ask that any information about potential violence is reported as soon as possible.
