MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Memphis-Shelby County Schools is making safety a bigger priority district-wide heading into winter break.
Memphis Police said a male student at Treadwell Middle School was stabbed in a fight on Monday. Authorities said five juveniles from 12 to 16 years old were involved. They said the incident started because the suspects were upset they lost a basketball game to the victim's team last Friday.
Parents told ABC24 they want more security enforced.
Erica Gates, a parent who has a 12-year-old daughter, said her child witnessed the stabbing.
Gates said she's glad her daughter was not hurt. She said a disturbing part about the incident is that the kids involved in the fight do not attend Treadwell Middle School.
"I'm very shocked that it was kids that don't even go here. Now that was the biggest shock, and I'm shocked they range from 12 to 16, because I'm trying to figure out why [they were there]. [They were] supposed to be at school still," Gates said.
MPD said they punched, kicked, pushed, then stabbed a boy with a knife. Police said the student was taken to Le Bonheur for a non-critical injury.
On Tuesday, Gates said she received two text messages from MSCS about picking up her child as soon as class was dismissed at 3:15 p.m.
She also said her husband received an automated call from the district about an increase in violent incidents and social media threats.
"I believe he said it was the superintendent saying it was an uptick in threats and to make sure you pick up your children and it's being taken care of," she said.
Gates was not the only parent who believes a change needs to happen within the district.
Marquez Gloster said he wants to see more security needs to be enforced at the school.
"If it's more police and security presence around, no violence should occur, you know what I'm saying?" Gloster said.
Gloster said the stabbing incident created a concern for his daughter's safety.
"My daughter's safety is now in jeopardy because of all of that stuff is going on. It makes me feel like a little bad about the situation," he said.
MSCS board member Natalie McKinney said safety is a top priority for students throughout the district. She believes in order to give parents and students a sense of security, they need to figure out as a community why the violent incident is happening.
"We've got to get to the root cause, and we've got to ask why — why are we having these incidents between our youth? What is going on that is precipitating all of this?" McKinney said.
McKinney said the Treadwell Middle School principal is the reason why the situation did not escalate further.
According to MPD, a school resource officer and the Treadwell principal were the individuals who broke up the fight.
McKinney said the district wants to provide assistance to all principals and give any necessary resources.
"We want to work with principal Hill and other principals across the district to figure out what we need to do to ensure that our students remain safe, and of course, work with our parents," she said.
MSCS Superintendent Dr. Marie Feagins put out a district-wide message to parents stating they are increasing security heading into the winter break. She also asked parents to monitor their child's social media pages for any unusual online behavior.
McKinney told ABC24 she is looking forward to developing more safety measure strategies with MSCS superintendent Dr. Feagins as quickly as possible to ensure both parents and the students are safe while at school.
Police listed the charges as follows:
A 15-year-old male was charged with aggravated assault and criminal trespass. He had also been taken to Le Bonheur for non-critical injuries.
A 16-year-old female was issued a juvenile summons for simple assault and criminal trespass.
A 12-year-old male was issued a juvenile summons for simple assault and criminal trespass.
A 14-year-old female was issued a juvenile summons for simple assault.
A 13-year-old male was issued a juvenile summons for simple assault.