Heated school board meeting with parents after violent student brawl

BOHEMIA (WABC) -- If the goal of high school is to teach civility, there was none of it Tuesday night at Connetquot High School in Bohemia Long Island.

"How would you want your kid like that!" one parent said.

"Sit down! You don't have the mic she has the mic," an official said.

"If we have no respect we have nothing! It starts right here, and right there, you're the parents," a parent said.

They may as well have brought pitchforks and torches to the raucous school board meeting in Bohemia Tuesday night.

Then again, the fact that they didn't has to be a step in the right direction.

Cell phone video from over the weekend shows some kids armed with baseball bats, knives and brass knuckles in an all-out brawl at a Ronkonkoma industrial park.

One teen, who was in the audience, needed his jaw wired shut after surgery.

"I am one of the kids that got brutally beaten with brass knuckles. The day after this fight I got a voicemail from anonymous of a box cutter that I was stabbed with opening and closing, this is not over this is continuing. What are you guys going to do about this? Because I'm terrified now. And why am I suspended? Why am I suspended for saving my friends life?" a student said.

It's not clear what sparked the brawl between two rival groups of teens from Connetquot High School, though parents say tensions between them have been rising on school grounds since September.

They claim school administrators have done nothing to stop it from festering past a verbal argument.

The district disputes that saying, "Outreach was made to the parents/guardians of the students involved, to make the parents aware of the school district's concern that the verbal argument could grow into something more serious."

This week students at Connetquot High report high security, and bag checks, as administrators try to keep the peace, but there was no peace at the meeting.

Sophomore Nick Abrahamsen took the brunt of the fight. He's now had several surgeries to insert metal plates into his broken jaw.

His mother Jenn DiMaggio spoke with me by phone Tuesday afternoon.

"It's difficult for Nick. He's a 15 year old. You know a lot of things are going to change now in his world because of this," she said.

Nick's mother tells me the other group of boys has been bringing weapons to school.

"This situation has been going on since September. These two groups of boys, my son and his friends and the other group share a lunch period. It's been going on all year long between the groups of boys," said DiMaggio.

A spokesperson for the School District told us "The Connetquot Central School District is cooperating with the Suffolk County Police Department currently investigating the incident and all students identified as part of the incident will not be in attendance in school pending a disciplinary review."

Security Monday at the high school was tight.

"There were cops going around the hallways and checking bags as soon as you got into the school. In the morning you had to go into the cafeteria or the auditorium. They wouldn't let you go into the hallways," said student Philip Maher.

"There's no more checking bags or anything. It's back to normal as much as we can," said Katherine Haggerty, a student.

In a statement, Connetquot Central School District Superintendent said:

"As a reminder, New York State law prohibits us from identifying or discussing students by name.

"Our understanding is the physical altercation between several of our high school students that occurred off of school grounds on Saturday was brought about as a result of a verbal altercation that occurred in the high school on Friday between students who have had disagreements with one another.

"The safety of our students, faculty and staff is always our primary concern. When the verbal altercation did occur, high school administration immediately intervened and met with the students who were involved. At no time did a physical dispute among the students occur on school grounds. Outreach was made from school officials to the parents/guardians of the students involved in the verbal altercation. The intention was to make the parents aware of the school district's concern that the verbal argument could grow into something more serious over the weekend outside of the school district's jurisdiction.

"Throughout this school year, as in previous school years, the Connetquot Central School District follows a strict protocol any time a parent/guardian or student brings an issue to the attention of school officials. This includes direct communication with the parent/guardian and student, an immediate investigation to develop the facts, providing counseling to the student when necessary, disciplinary action if warranted, contacting legal authorities and changes in security measures if needed. Protocol is still being followed in respect to this issue.

"High school administrators and educators will remind, and continue to educate, all of our students to not participate in any silent, verbal or physical action which may encourage conflict among the student population. We encourage all parents/guardians to speak to their children as well. We will continue to be vigilant in regards to maintaining the health and safety of our students, faculty and staff. "