DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — Lakisha Spells was visiting her son's school, Towers High School, Tuesday morning when she said she heard a fight break out in the hallway between classes. Spells' son is a freshman at the high school.
“Beaten up really bad," Spells said. "We heard the loud commotions and screams. There are about two or three fights a day at this school or probably more. Just yesterday, my son had to take another route to walk home."
Towers High went on a brief lockdown, according to DeKalb County School officials. Spells said her own son was attacked last month, and she was fearful he could have been hurt again in Tuesday's fight. She showed 11Alive video of the attack, in which she said her son had a concussion, a broken nose and contusions.
"You see the boy stomping and kicking him like he was a soccer ball and jumping on him like he was a trampoline," Spells said. “My son is 14. He’s only 100 lbs. He’s crying, scared and being targeted. You can’t help your kid. You can’t do anything. I’m ready to fight for him, but I can’t fight for him.”
One student said he had experienced five fights already this year at Towers High, which has had a history of overcrowding and an underperforming academic track record. However, the student told 11Alive he did not feel as though his safety was compromised.
In February, a school resource officer had to use pepper spray to break up a large fight at Towers High. One student went to the hospital with minor injuries, and several other students faced criminal charges. School officials reported more than 1,300 fights districtwide between August and September 2021.
DeKalb County School officials would not go on camera to talk about Tuesday's fight, but they told 11Alive the fight resulted in minor injuries and a brief lockdown of the high school.
Despite the school employing a couple of armed school resource officers and two unarmed campus security supervisors, Spells said the district needs to find a fix soon because her son's life could be at stake.
"That’s not enough, and that’s not okay," Spells said. "Our kids are sent here to go to school for education purposes, not have to be self-defense taught. This is not the life I want my son to live. He's been in private school. It's his first time in public school, and this is not the trend I want my son to be in."