Latest news with #AshbrookHighSchool
Yahoo
28-03-2025
- Yahoo
Advocates protest, create petition following alleged attack at Gaston County high school
GASTONIA, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — A Gaston County student will face charges, following an alleged assault caught on camera inside a classroom. It happened Tuesday at Ashbrook High School. Because the accused student is younger than 18, investigators are not releasing exactly what charges he will face. Gaston County Police turned this case over to the Department of Juvenile Justice. The alleged attack is causing quite the stir. Protesters went to this district office Thursday afternoon to share their concerns. 'I will stand up for these kids if nobody else will,' said Teresa MacFarlane, who protested. 'I will.' MacFarlane is one of about a dozen people, who brought signs and stood outside the Gaston County Schools Central Office Thursday afternoon in protest, after seeing a video of an alleged assault at Ashbrook High School. 'We have anti-bullying policies but apparently they're not working or we wouldn't be having situations like we had yesterday,' she said. The video shows one student repeatedly hitting another. It also shows the targeted student falling out of his chair and onto the ground. People online are claiming the victim may have special needs, but district leaders aren't able to confirm that because of privacy laws. 'We want the students to be able to go to school and learn, not be worried about their safety,' said MacFarlane. 'We want measures put in place to make that happen.' MacFarlane is an advocate for special needs children and started a petition calling for cameras in all Gaston County classrooms and for the district to adopt a zero-tolerance policy against bullying. More states move to ban cellphones in school as Georgia is latest to act Rule 6 in Gaston County Schools Student Code of Conduct states, 'students shall not bully or harass other students.' For high schoolers, the consequences range from in-school disciplinary action, such as long-term suspension, to criminal charges. Rule 10 states, 'students shall not fight or attempt to cause bodily harm to another student.' Those consequences range from up to 10 days of out-of-school suspension, to law enforcement involvement. 'We still have a lot of bullying going on in the school system that we need to address and we need for the school board to adopt some policies and procedures to nip this in the bud,' said MacFarlane. 'It's not okay with the citizens of Gaston County.' Queen City News reached out to Gaston County Schools officials and asked if they had any comments on the protest and petition. We're waiting to hear back. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
28-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Video of attack at Gaston County school goes viral. What district says happened next
A video of a Gaston County Schools student hitting a classmate is going viral online, and the district says it took disciplinary action after the incident. The video posted Wednesday depicts a student at Ashbrook High School swinging and hitting another student in the back of the head and neck area, before getting up and continuing to throw punches. The victim falls out of his seat and to the ground while guarding his head and crying loudly. Gaston County Schools confirmed the incident took place Tuesday, that it was aware of the video and informed parents of students involved. 'The school takes this incident seriously; this type of behavior cannot be tolerated at school,' a GCS spokesperson told The Charlotte Observer in an email. 'The school investigated the incident, met with the students' parents, followed its discipline guidelines, and involved the school resource officer/law enforcement. ' The spokesperson said the district can not share or confirm information about the students involved or disciplinary actions taken due student privacy concerns. The video has been shared by several popular right-wing accounts on X, including Libs of Tiktok, which has 4.3 million followers. There, the video has received more than 6 million views. On a Facebook account called Gaston County Scanner Radio, the video has received more than 317,000 views. It was also shared by Michele Morrow, who ran as the Republican nominee for North Carolina superintendent of public instruction in November. 'How many children and staff have to be physically harmed before we press charges and STOP allowing violence and chaos in our classrooms?!' she posted Wednesday on X. The Gaston County Police Department announced Thursday afternoon it investigated the incident and referred it to the NC Department of Juvenile Justice. 'The Gaston County Police takes all incidents of school violence seriously. The full investigation was turned over to the Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) to obtain petitions,' a spokesperson for the department said in a news release. A petition starts a formal court case against a juvenile. Reports of student misconduct increased around the country after the COVID-19 pandemic, but data show violence and crime rates in NC public schools decreased by 7.7% between the 2022-23 and 2023-24 school years, according to the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. Around 77% of public schools in the state reported zero to five acts of school violence last school year. However, instances of assault on school personnel increased between the 2022-23 and 2023-24 school years.
Yahoo
25-02-2025
- Yahoo
16-Year-Old Breaks Down in Court and Shouts 'I Love You, Mama' After Being Charged as an Adult for Murder
A North Carolina teenager broke down in tears in court after being charged as an adult for murder. According to local media outlet WCCB, 16-year-old Sean Simpson was charged with first-degree murder in connection with the killing of 16-year-old Zaquavious Dawkins in Gastonia, North Carolina, on Jan. 26. Appearing at Gaston County Courthouse on Jan. 29, Simpson was overcome with emotion as the judge read his charges and appointed him a capital defender. Simpson will be tried as an adult and is being held without bail, per WCCB. According to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department, an amendment to North Carolina's "Raise the Age" law came into effect on Dec. 1, 2024, and allows 16 and 17-year-olds to be tried as adults for felonies A through E, which includes murder. Footage shared by WCCB showed Simpson crying and placing his head in his handcuffed hands. He then shouted, "I love you, Mama, I love you," as officers led him out of the courtroom. WCCB reported that Dawkins was walking to a store on North Chester Street to buy items for his disabled mother when Simpson allegedly shot him. "He gave me a kiss. He said, 'I'll be back.' I said, 'I love you too,' ' Dawkins' mother Tilise told local media outlet 7 News. PEOPLE has contacted the Gaston Police Department for comment. According to local media outlet the Gaston Gazette, a witness to the shooting told police that he and Simpson had fought the previous school year at Ashbrook High School. A boy who had been walking with Dawkins from a Family Dollar store on Jan. 26 told detectives that a black Tesla drove past them and a boy in the back seat — who he identified as Simpson — shouted something out of the window. Dawkins and his friend then began to run when the car returned again, but Simpson allegedly began shooting from the back of a vehicle, according to an affidavit submitted by officer J.R. Robinson, per the Gaston Gazette. Dawkins was found covered in blood in a parking lot and had a gunshot wound to his right shoulder, per Robinson's affidavit. He was pronounced dead at the hospital. Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases. 'He was sweet,' Dawkins' aunt Denise Wilson told WCCB last month. 'He was kind. He would do anything for anybody. I mean, all you have to do is just say, 'Tank, will you go do this? Yes, ma'am. Yes, sir.' " '[You're] out here doing big boy things, and this is what's going to happen,' Wilson added to WCCB. 'You got to suffer the consequences.' Ashbrook High School also paid tribute to Dawkins in a Facebook post on Jan. 27. "Remembering Zaquavious 'Tank' Dawkins," they wrote alongside a photo of him. "The Green Wave family is heartbroken as we remember Zaquavious 'Tank' Dawkins, a truly special young man loved by so many." "Tank was not only a scholar-athlete but also a kind and thoughtful soul who touched the lives of everyone around him," the statement continued. "Our thoughts and prayers are with his family, friends, and loved ones during this difficult time. Tank will forever be a part of the Green Wave." They added, "Rest in peace, Tank. Your legacy will live on in our hearts." Two days after Dawkins' death, Simpson was arrested at Gaston Adolescent Center, where he had been undergoing treatment, per the Gaston Gazette. According to the center's website, the center treats 'children and adolescents that have significant emotional and behavioral difficulties.' Read the original article on People
