HENRICO COUNTY, Va. (WTVR) -- Several Highland Springs High School students said they were reluctant to return to school Tuesday.
“We got a lot of squads at our school,” student Tiara Wallace said.
The ninth grader said she and her friends were attacked at Robinson Park in Henrico’s East End as part of what’s called a “Squad Fight.”
Wallace said that a lot of Henrico students are part of secret squads, which she said were similar to gangs.
The squads agree to fight to settle an issue and it's supposed to be resolved after the big fight, she said.
“You fight and then it's done, but this beef is not done,” said Wallace.
She explained, that this time it was taken too far. She said a group of 20 girls showed up at Robinson Park last Friday in separate cars and attacked.
Wallace said the fight was recorded and posted all over social media.
Now, these girls want to call it quits.
“It just needs to be squashed, point-blank, period,” said Wallace.
Wallace’s mom said she wanted these squad fights stop as well. She said she is telling their story so other parents would know about this sometimes undetected criminal act.
“It’s too much violence out here, with kids doing this and kids doing that and stabbing each other and killing each other and the parents having to bury them over nonsense,” Lakeisha Tyler said.
Citizens Against Crime Executive Director, Charles Willis said he's heard of a number of squad fights in recent weeks and that it appeared to be a growing problem.
“We've heard of some folks that continue to do it and continue to go on and on and on and try to make a name for their squad,” Willis said.
Henrico School Board Member, Lamont Bagby said that he too has heard of a number of squad fights and requested that the county’s school administrators look into this issue.
