An afterschool fight that ended in a shooting outside Sepulveda Middle School in North Hills has left students and parents with frayed nerves, as the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) continues to investigate the incident.
One school parent, who asked to remain anonymous, spoke with the San Fernando Valley Sun/el Sol about what her daughter heard and witnessed before and after the shooting on April 15. She said her daughter explained that the shooting incident stemmed from two previous fights between two of her classmates. She said the first fight happened earlier this week outside a Vallarta supermarket.
The second fight, involving the same two students, happened during the school day on campus at Sepulveda. Her daughter said the student who reportedly “lost” the on-campus fight on Wednesday, April 15, “told his [older] brother about it, and … [the brother] showed up after school.”
A video shared with the San Fernando Valley Sun/el Sol shows part of the afterschool fight and shooting, which happened in what appears to be a parking lot outside the school. The video shows a youth on the ground being hit and kicked by three or more individuals – he was the boy who had “won” the fight earlier that day, said the school parent. A teen wearing a white T-shirt – who is the older brother of the student who “lost” the earlier fight, according to the parent – is also hitting the youth.
A “pop” – which sounded like a gunshot – is heard during the 51-second video. The fighting continues briefly, then the individual in white is seen limping away. He was later identified as the 17-year-old victim who was shot in the thigh. A 13-year-old Sepulveda student was identified as the suspect in the shooting – he was the youth seen getting beat up in the video, said the school mom.
When the afterschool incident occurred, she said her daughter was just getting out of school.
“They took her [and other students] back inside and they were placed on lock down. My daughter was scared,” she said. “She immediately called her dad and let him know what happened, [and he left] to pick her up. … She also called me to let me know. I felt so scared not knowing what else was happening or if my daughter was safe. I kept looking on social media to see if anyone close to school was posting something so I could know what was going on.”
She said her daughter had “never seen any problems like this” at the North Hills school before Wednesday.
“As a parent, I’m concerned because I’m not sure if this kid had the gun at school all day or if the older kids had [the gun] on them and he got the gun while they were hitting him,” she said. “My daughter goes to this school, and I also have an older [child] at [nearby] James Monroe High School. Can you imagine how many kids [might] have access to guns and take them to school every day?”