A brawl at Alton High School in Madison County, Illinois, has led to 26 students being criminally charged, the Madison County State Attorney’s Office announced on Facebook Friday.
The charges include mob action, disorderly conduct and aggravated battery of a peace officer. The students being charged range in age from 14 to 18, with 15 girls involved and 11 boys, authorities said.
Two of the students involved, a pair of 18-year-old women, have been charged as adults for their roles in the Aug. 30 incident.
Precious Holloway was charged with aggravated battery of a school employee, a “class 3” felony that carries a sentence ranging from probation to five years in prison. Ms. Holloway is accused of lowering her shoulder and ramming the school’s assistant principal, according to the Belleville News-Democrat.
A’Marie Robinson was charged with aggravated battery at a public place, also a “class 3 felony,” and mob action, a “class 4” felony that carries a sentence ranging from probation to three years in prison. Ms. Robinson is accused of striking multiple students, according to the News-Democrat.
The 24 other students charged as juveniles are now subject to delinquency petitions. The punishments involved range from court supervision and probation to being committed to the Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice. A student committed to the IDJJ can be held at a juvenile detention facility until their 21st birthday, the attorney’s office explained.
The state attorney’s office clarified that no weapons were involved in the brawl.
“It is a tragedy whenever the criminal justice system becomes the appropriate tool to punish students for actions that occur in school. But where necessary, we will use all tools the law offers to ensure the safety of our schools. Our schools must be protected from crime and violence. Period,” Madison County State’s Attorney Tom Haine said in a statement.
The school district laid down punishments of its own for the incident, with 20 students expelled and 16 others given lengthy suspensions, according to the News-Democrat. A metal detector has also been installed.
Local law enforcement has said that the school will get a third school resource officer in the aftermath of the incident.
“We’re moving forward with that,” Madison County Sheriff Jeff Connor said, according to local newspaper The Telegraph.
