what led to the violent school bus fight that resulted in students getting slashed with knives?”
Police are investigating a fight that occurred Wednesday afternoon between two Winnacunnet High School students that ended with one being rushed to the hospital. WHS Principal Randy Zito said both students — whose names are not being released because they are juveniles — have been suspended and the matter is now in the hands of police. Hampton Police Chief Jamie Sullivan said the investigation was ongoing, but he believes charges will be filed. Police arrived at the high school around 2:23 p.m. after receiving a report of an assault involving two male students. The principal said the fight occurred shortly after classes were dismissed for the day. The two students were getting on a bus to go home when an altercation ensued. “We know what the altercation was about, but we are not giving out any details,” Zito said. “Oftentimes, these things begin well before the incident itself; in other words, comments made last week, last month, last year and follow-up feelings to previous incidents.”
After his bus pulled away from the East Rock Global Magnet School, a first-grade boy whipped out a pocketknife and started slashing the seat, school officials said. The knife was confiscated and the boy disciplined, according to school officials, who did not notify parents of the incident immediately. The bus ride was captured on videotape, which was not released to parents or the press. The incident Tuesday afternoon sent one distraught mother scrambling for answers after her young daughter gave a harrowing rendition of what happened on the bus. Another parent said the incident pointed to a larger issue of “out-of-control” behavior on the bus, where the only adult is at the steering wheel. Catina Hicks learned of the incident when her distressed 7-year-old daughter called her at work Tuesday afternoon. Her daughter reported that a boy on the bus had threatened several students with a knife. This story was later refuted by the school system. “I heard it was to my son’s throat,” Hicks f
