High School graduation is arguably one of the most important days in a young persons life. It marks the time when mommy and daddy no longer have to take care of your every need and tells the world you are an adult and ready to take your place as a productive member of society. But on Tuesday night, one graduation in an area of Memphis, Tennessee started out on a less than happy note, as parents squared off and traded punches before the first diploma was handed out.
Police were called to Arlington High School’s graduation ceremony on Tuesday evening in response to altercation that broke out between two women. Officers said that one woman was handcuffed and another woman was escorted out of Arlington High School’s graduation following the incident. It is not known exactly what started the fight, but some witnesses said it appeared to have started after one of the women asked the other to exchange seats.
The fight was captured no video by several attendees, as students made their way into the sanctuary at Bellevue Baptist Church, in Cordova, for their graduation. Two women can plainly be seen throwing punches at several other individuals in the video. At one point, one woman in a brown dress can be seen throwing a major right cross striking an unidentified man, then the same woman shoves another young woman. As the fight progresses, one of the women begins pulling another woman’s hair and shaking her head from side to side.
https://youtu.be/ii2utuelGhQ
Jeffrey Mayo, the chief of staff for Arlington Community Schools released the following statement : “Last night we celebrated 500 students who graduated from Arlington High School. This year’s class earned over $30,600,000 in college scholarships.
“It was unfortunate that a couple of adults in the audience exhibited the behavior they did prior to the ceremony beginning and thus has caused a distraction from the celebration of our students’ accomplishments. The graduation ceremony was not affected by this incident due to the actions of Bellevue’s security team who promptly removed the adults from the ceremony.
“It is our hope that the focus will shift to our students and their accomplishments instead of the poor decisions by adults in attendance. Congratulations to our 2017 graduates of Arlington High School.”
Sassy Liberty