Mother attacks student, SRO injured in separate school fights, SC sheriff says

On Friday, two unrelated school fights broke out within minutes of each other Sumter County Sheriff’s Office announced, and in one of them a school employee was injured.

Around 9:15 a.m., the principal of the school at ul RE Davis College Preparatory Academy of Eastern School Road contacted dispatch to report a fight in progress and requested assistance.

The juveniles and their mother, Nessia Gibson, 36, attacked another student at the school, the sheriff said. Neither Gibson nor her children had permission to be on the school property where the attack occurred.

Officials said Gibson was charged with assault, battery and disturbing the peace in schools. She was arrested and taken to the sheriff’s office where she is awaiting a bond hearing. Her child, accused of assault, was detained and later handed over to a relative. A lawsuit was filed in the family court. Gibson’s other child was charged with disorderly conduct.

In the second fight around 9:22 the administrators at Lakewood High School called 911 to report the assault. A 17-year-old student attacked two students. When a school employee tried to make an arrest, the 17-year-old punched and “injured” the deputy.

The deputy was treated for his wound and released from Prisma Tuomey Hospital. He is expected to make a full recovery, officials said.

The 17-year-old, whose name was not released by the sheriff’s office because of his age, was charged with assault and battery, resisting arrest and assaulting a police officer. They were taken to Department of Juvenile Justice and a complaint was filed with the Family Court.

“Schools must be a safe place for our children to learn,” Sheriff Anthony Dennis said in a news release. “To ensure this, school resource officers have been assigned to each school and minors and parents who cause disruptions will be held accountable.”