Responding to school threats at Columbus High School

GOLDEN TRIANGLE, Miss. (WCBI) – Social media has been buzzing about the Columbus High School brawl and an alleged threat today, leading many parents to check their children out of school early today.

Columbus High School was put on lockdown after several students were involved in a fight Tuesday.

Lydia Quarles is a Youth Court Referee in the juvenile court system.

She says the violence in school often starts off  campus.

“It’s usually not school stuff, sometimes, somebody posts something on social media that makes somebody mad, and that’s an issue. The DIS worker tries to figure out what the dynamics are and tries to figure out whether this child might be in need of special treatment,” said Quarles.

Lydia Quarles also suggests that youth and families seek help to process emotions and actions.

“The best thing a parent can do would be involved with their child and try to help them navigate waters.  And if they do get in the system either with child protective services or delinquent, to work with the counselors and try to get to the bottom of it. Those people will tell you you need to do this, this, and this. And if the parent is cooperative, that really really helps,” said Quarles.

These events have led law enforcement to take precautions and monitor areas in the community where students may try to pick up where they left off at school.

“And when information is passed on to us we take it serious of course. So we tend to make sure that we are monitoring those areas whether it’s our parks where student might be threatening to meet up. We make sure we have our officers present there even sometimes if we have to call in extra man power to make sure we man the problem, because our main concern is having a safe place and creating safety for our citizens and of course our children also,” said Johnson.

District Officials told us that there were additional officers on the C-H-S campus today, and they are working with Columbus Police to investigate threats.