Read article : Australian Catholic schoolgirls suspended after brawl is broadcast live
EBONY BOWDEN Last updated 17:36, August 23 2017
Several girls were suspended over an incident in which students were threatened in the bathroom at Melbourne's Killester College.
Two schoolgirls barricaded themselves in a bathroom as a mob of fellow students threatened them at an Australian Catholic college in Melbourne's east on Tuesday.
Footage of the incident was broadcast live on Facebook, sending staff at Killester College and parents into a tailspin.
The video shows several girls banging on the doors of toilet cubicles while shouting "come out now" as at least two terrified students barricaded themselves inside.
Dozens of other girls can be seen looking on while filming the clash on their mobile phones. Several students have been suspended in the wake of the fight.
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In a statement, principal Leanne Di Stefano said the disappointing incident transpired after a spat on social media.
"Two small groups of girls in year 12 clashed on social media over the weekend," she wrote, while calling media reports the fight had involved 50 students as "misinformation".
Two students reported the social media clash to a year level co-ordinator on Monday night and decided to wait for the teacher in the bathroom on Tuesday morning when the fight broke out.
"Unfortunately the other four students realised they were in the toilets and decided to confront them," she wrote.
"Disappointingly, about 15 other year 12 girls decided to go into the toilets to watch, one of whom decided to live stream the incident."
News Corp Australia reported the video was viewed 1000 times before it was deleted.
Di Stefano said the fight was dispersed within minutes but acknowledged the rights of students to feel safe had been breached.
Police could not confirm reports they were called to the property on Springvale Road.
It is believed several parents concerned by the attack took their children home in the middle of the day.
"We are very disappointed in the behaviour of the girls who were involved in the incident," Di Stefano continued.
"A number of girls are on suspension whilst we work through the issues with them and their parents."
She also took aim at the girls who watched, saying they had "failed to recognise how their behaviour contributed to the tension of the situation".
The incident at Killester College follows similar fights at Melbourne high schools broadcast on social media.
A schoolyard brawl between three students at Cranbourne Secondary College was filmed and posted to Facebook last year where it was viewed 24,000 times.
Di Stefano said "no school was immune" to problems brought on by the "inappropriate" use of social media.
"Cyber and personal safety are issues that we address at school and regularly visit. As a principal, I need to say very clearly, that we believe our students overall are wonderful girls who contribute in many ways."
- Brisbane Times
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