Zephyrhills High gets added security after multiple campus fights
Pasco County’s Zephyrhills High School had extra campus security on Wednesday as the school district and law enforcement aimed to tamp down tensions that flared during student fights on Tuesday.
A district spokesperson said that two separate altercations involving 14 students broke out during lunch time on Tuesday — one in the cafeteria and another in the hallway. Campus security guards jumped in to break it up quickly, spokesperson Corey Dierdorff said, but the “sheer number of students involved and the intensity of the situation” made it difficult to calm the incidents.
The school went into “controlled campus” through dismissal. The next day, “out of an abundance of caution,” the district placed additional officers at the high school. Involved students were told to remain off campus on Wednesday.
“Let me be perfectly clear: behavior of this nature will not be tolerated in Pasco County Schools,” Superintendent Kurt Browning said in a statement released Wednesday. “Every student has the right to a safe and conducive learning environment, and we will take every necessary measure to ensure that this remains the case.”
The district said the students involved in the fights will not be allowed back on campus until the discipline process is worked out. Officials said they will reevaluate the need for added security on Thursday.
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