News

Actions

Seven arrested in Tift County High School fight that caused lockdown

Posted at
and last updated

TIFT CO., GA (WALB) - Seven students were arrested from a fight that caused a three-hour lockdown at Tift County High School, according to school officials.

The school district posted to its Facebook page that the high school was on a code red lockdown.

The lockdown occurred immediately following two groups of students fighting Thursday morning at the start of school in the hallways, officials said.

A total of 11 students were involved in the incident, officials said.

The lockdown lasted approximately three hours, according to school officials.

 “Our staff and our students knew what to do," said Stacey Beckham, Director of Communications for Tift County Schools. "They knew where to go, and knew how to get into those proper positions so that everyone was accounted for, and so they begin calling in the students they immediately had seen fighting and then they were also able to review security footage, to see if there were any other students involved to try and resolve all of that." 

Beckham said the biggest problem the school faced was trying to keep parents from trying to pick up their kids during the lockdown. 

“When you got so many people in one area, you need to know where they are and having people that you don’t know coming in and out is a safety hazard," Beckham said. "When we are on lockdown, we want to know where your child is and if someone is being checked out then we don’t know necessarily when, or are they already gone? It causes some many more questions and so much more confusion.”

Copyright 2018 WALB. All rights reserved.


TIFT COUNTY, Ga. (WTXL/WALB) - A lockdown that went into effect early Thursday morning at Tift County High School has been lifted, according to school officials.

TIft County High School was on a Code Red lockdown Thursday morning.

"All students are safe and not in danger," according to a Facebook post.

Several students had an altercation in the hallway during a class change, the post said. 

The lockdown lasted approximately three hours due to an altercation involving nearly ten students, according to school officials. 

There were no weapons involved in the fight, but the school was placed on lockdown in order to help aid the search for all suspects involved.

Students are being questioned by Tifton Police, officials said.

School officials said students involved in the incident are facing disciplinary consequences that include expulsion. 

There is still a police presence at the high school.

"We are still investigating exactly what caused the issue, but it appears to stem from issues that began in the community (outside of school hours and off campus) and spilled over into our school," the Facebook post said.

Parents were told not to attempt to check students out because "our first priority is safety and knowing exactly where each of our students are. We will update you throughout the morning. Thank you for your patience."