Kids ‘still freaked out’ after post-game brawl

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This article was published 23/09/2024 (379 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A Winnipeg mother is questioning what happened during a brawl at a high school football game, saying information from police and school administrators is inconsistent with first-hand accounts from her children and video footage from the scene.

The woman, who asked not to be named, said she was on the phone with her three teenage children as they fled from Dakota Collegiate after a brawl between fans broke out Thursday.

“They were frantically running, trying to get to the car, because of what they saw,” she said. “My kids saw the assault take place… It was 20 kids chasing after one kid.”

Several police cruisers were sent to the school after the game between the Dakota Lancers and Grant Park Pirates, at about 9 p.m. There were no reported assaults, injuries or arrests, city police said last week.

Louis Riel School Division superintendent Christian Michalik acknowledged the incident last week, saying, “Thankfully, no one was hurt.”

The concerned mother said this weekend that video shows at least one student was seriously assaulted.

She sent a 10-second video to the Free Press that shows a person being held on the ground and surrounded by a group of teens. The male is repeatedly punched in the head and side by somebody on top of him. At least three people in the crowd step forward to kick him multiple times.

“When you look at the video, you almost can’t tell that there’s somebody underneath there because he’s completely on top of him. (The victim) is in the fetal position, looks like he’s kind of trying to protect his vital organs,” the concerned mother said.

Another video shows a fight between two different people that is quickly broken up.

In other videos, teens are seen throwing punches at each other, shoving, swearing, shouting and running as fireworks erupt in the background. Many of the people in the recordings have their own phones out, seemingly taking photos, or recording or posting videos.

The concerned mother said her children did not take any of the videos, which have been circulating online and shared among students since the incident.

Rumours spread quickly in the hours after the football game, with some teens believing one of their classmates had been stabbed and killed during the brawl, she said.

“These kids all thought that he was being stabbed. They all went to bed thinking that he had passed away… My kids are still freaked out about it,” she said.

The school division said in an emailed statement Monday that it is aware of the videos.

“We are also aware there are rumours circulating on social media about weapons being seen during the altercations. We take this information very seriously; however, we have yet to see video evidence or receive witness reports substantiating these rumours.”

Administrators were able to identify and discipline two LRSD students identified in one video. They are investigating a second incident captured on camera, the statement said.

The division urged anybody with information or video related to the incident to contact police.

A Winnipeg Police Service spokesperson reiterated Monday that the WPS has not received any injury reports or complaints.

They did not comment on whether police were aware of the videos, nor whether the investigation is solely in the hands of the school administrators.

“If this happened at, say, a (Winnipeg) Blue Bombers game and it was adults… Would we all just walk away from it and think, ‘Oh, there were no injuries, nobody reported anything, so let’s all just go on with our lives,’” the concerned mother said.

“It sends a message to all the kids that saw that, that the school doesn’t care about their safety.”

The division stressed that safety is a priority and said the investigation into the incident is ongoing.

”We are reviewing and adjusting as necessary our approach to security and supervision to support a safe experience for everyone at future events,” it said.

tyler.searle@freepress.mb.ca