A fight broke outside the Frayser High School cafeteria Tuesday, shortly after 11am. Police were called and arrested two 18-year-old students. Five others were taken to juvenile court.
“My friend’s brother told me he wanted a one-on-one. So I waited till school to start, and after lunch, started a fight,” said Latravis Vinson, a 15-year-old who was taken to juvenile court Tuesday.
He said that he “wasn’t thinking,” and that he’s learned a “good lesson” from this experience, which caused him and six others to be suspended for up to 180 days, on top of criminal charges.
“Stupid. Got kicked out of school. It’s a stupid decision,” he said.
Vinson said he wasn’t the one brought the knife to school. Even with the dangers involved and now the consequences at hand, he said he does not have anything to say to the other boys involved in the fight.
His mother said the school has yet to tell her what happened. She had to call her son’s cell phone to see why he hadn’t come home on time before she found out he was in trouble.
The mother of another student said she would have like to see authorities handle the situation differently. Missouri Milam is the mother of 18-year-old Kenny Lockheart, who was arrested on charges of assault with bodily injury and inciting to riot.
“I found my son, along with several more young men that go to school up there, in handcuffs,” Milam said.
She said that Lockheart has a learning disability and would not be fully aware of what was going on. Her understanding of the situation is that Lockheart was walking out of the cafeteria when he was hit.
She does not think her son should have been charged. “My child ain’t no saint. You know, I know all children got their own ways, but I know the way this was handled could have been better than the way it was.”
“I really don’t think that’s right. They should have found out from everybody who started it, what it was for, and why,” she said.
Neither Vinson nor Lockheart’s mother said that they were involved in gangs, but the reports show gang affiliations for all the detained suspects.
Memphis City Schools said that they normally run metal detector tests for all students entering at the start of school, 7:30am, until about 9:00am. Occasional random checks are made after that point, but it’s possible the student with the knife arrived on campus later Tuesday morning.
Memphis City Schools says they’re working with police to try and keep campuses safe and to curb or eliminate gang culture.
Tags: knife fight, memphis, school, TENNESSEE