A video that was briefly posted on social media earlier this week is being investigated by police in Kingston, Ont.
The video, which was sent to CKWS after it was removed from social media, shows a fight between two teenage girls with a large crowd of spectators cheering in the background. A parent of one of the teenagers allegedly encourages her daughter to keep fighting.
Police confirm the fight happened at McCullough Park in Kingston’s west end on Jan. 28, just before 5 p.m. Police received 911 calls about the fight. When police arrived, they found a group of young people walking away from the scene.
“Officers responded and, on arrival, there was a group of young kids seen, but there was no fight in progress,” said Const. Cam Mack of the Kingston Police.
Police learned more about the incident a couple of days later, on Jan. 30. Kingston Police assigned two investigators to the case.
“We received information about this video that had been posted online, so officers investigated,” Mack said. “They have viewed the video and in fact they have identified the girls that were involved in the altercation, and they have been spoken to.”
“We’re still looking at speaking with other parties that were there at the scene and of course following up with schools and CAS,” Mack added.
Mack said the video, which went viral in the Kingston area, appears to depict parents, other adults and other youths involved in the incident, possibly even cheering as the kids fought.
“This is not the kind of behaviour that we like to see,” Mack said. “Certainly those parents, I would imagine, would have some communication with Children’s Aid about what was going on, and in fact, allowing it to continue.”
The mother of the alleged victim – who would only be interviewed if we hid her identity – says there has been a long standing issue between her daughter and the other girl involved in the fight.
“They went to school together, there’s a lot of issues, bullying is the biggest one,” she said. “I went to the school about it and we talked about it, they kept an eye on both students and it went quiet for a bit. And now it’s reoccurred.”
She has seen the video and calls it “disturbing.”
“Why are there parents there, not doing anything or egging on this fight? If you’re going to be there for support, you should be making sure it’s fair or contacting the other parents before anything has even happened.”
Two adults claiming to be the parents present at the fight wouldn’t appear on camera, but both say they wished they had handled the situation differently and claim they’ve since been assaulted in retribution.
Kingston Police say the individuals involved in the fight could face charges such as assault and causing a disturbance.
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