8 students charged in Sumter County school fight seen in viral video
Eight students have been arrested in connection with fights at a Sumter County high school that were the subject of a viral video.
The brawl happened in the parking lot of Lakewood High School on Feb. 20, the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office said in a release. Video of the second fight was posted to Facebook and YouTube.
The sheriff’s office announced Thursday that eight students were charged with disturbing schools.
Charged were: Tylin Benenhaley, 17; Johnventtee Ameen Bender, 17; Tyrek Dequan Brown, 18; Terrence Lee Epps, 19; Jalin Omar Harvin-Thomas, 17; Caleb Garrett McCloud, 18; Kristopher Rex Twigg, 17; and Alex Daniel Zaragoza, 17.
The mother of one of the students involved in the fight posted the video on her Facebook page.
Linda Frierson wrote in a post that her son and two of his friends were jumped at school by seven other boys.
“I didn’t realize the severity of what happened until the video surfaced and I got a call from the school today telling me that I needed to pick up my son,” she wrote on Feb. 23, fuming with anger because she said her son and his friends are expected to be charged and potentially expelled for their roles in the brawl. “Clearly this video shows my kid and his friends being jumped and stomped in the ground for no reason other than these little punks wanted to show off.”
Real-time reporter Noah Feit contributed to this report.
This story was originally published March 1, 2018 at 4:45 PM with the headline "8 students charged in Sumter County school fight seen in viral video."