Campus Brawl at Clement Howell High sends students to Hospital

Dana Malcolm 
Staff Writer 

Three boys were injured and visitation at the Cheshire Hall Medical Center in Providenciales was suspended for about 18 hours following a school brawl on Wednesday afternoon at the Clement Howell High.

“At Clement Howell High School, the safety and well-being of our students are of utmost priority. We are taking this incident very seriously and are currently conducting a thorough investigation to ascertain the root cause and circumstances that led to this regrettable situation,” The Ministry of Education said in a press release Thursday Morning.

It followed reports of a large fight that began to come in early Wednesday morning with residents reporting not just the police but the presence of an ambulance on school grounds.

By 2 p.m. communication came from the TCI Hospital that they had suspended visitation; an action usually reserved for the aftermath of violent events.

The hospital did not say why it was closing its doors, only indicating that it was for the safety of its patients and staff as well as their families.

The Ministry cleared up some of what had happened in their statement indicating that the injured students, one 15 -year-old and two 16-year-olds, had been  taken to the Cheshire Hall Medical Centre for treatment.

“Contrary to reports circulating on social media, there were no further incidents at the hospital, however, as a standard precautionary measure, the hospital went on lockdown mode,” it said.

When Magnetic Media contacted the police around 4 p.m. Wednesday to find out what caused the ruckus they told us they were still on scene. Speaking to media later on they revealed the cause of the fight was still unknown but that they were using video evidence and interviews to piece it together.

Videos, shot by students, were shared with the news team, showing the extent of the fighting.

In them a large knot of boys is seen in multiple videos, some throwing punches, some kicking and pushing and some others trying in vain to separate their schoolmates. A lone white clad individual, possibly a security guard, is dragged along in the melee of fighting teens.  Some are seen brandishing what appears to be rocks, which could have been used as weapons.

There were several mobs where fights broke out; mostly boys but also girls involved.

By news production time, no news had come from police of any arrests made but the hospital resumed regular operations on Thursday morning around 9:30 a.m.

The brawl comes just weeks before the Reaching the Streets initiative which is aimed at tackling violence and criminal activities in teens and young adults.