Hillsborough Deputies Called In To Quell Wharton High Fights

TAMPA, FL – Hillsborough County Sheriff’s deputies are on the scene at Wharton High School to help quell tension on the campus following a series of fights among students.

According to the sheriff’s office, fights between a group of students broke out on the campus at 20150 Bruce B. Downs Blvd. Friday, Feb. 2, Tuesday, Feb. 6 and Wednesday, Feb. 7.

As a result, the school resource deputy requested assistance from the sheriff’s office to ensure there are no more conflicts and to provide additional security.

The sheriff’s office emphasized there is no threat to the safety of the students at the school.

School district media outreach manager Tanya Arja said she doesn’t know the exact nature of the fights or how many students were involved but said she believes the fighting is related to “neighborhood issues.”

“These are issues from outside the school that the students are bringing on campus,” she said. “The school is working with the students to mitigate these neighborhood issues.”

School officials say there have been 22 physical fights between students on campus this year.

Arja doesn't know if they are all related to the same dispute. However, the fights began attracting a large audience on the social media site, Instagram, where students were uploading cell phone videos of the disputes. That site has since been taken down.

Image via Google Earth