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Caught on camera: Melee at Lee High School

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — One local high school is dealing with the aftermath of a melee caught on camera. The fight got so out of control, students say those who were fighting were pepper-sprayed.

Students and parents tell Action News they want to see more security at the school.

The fight broke out in the early morning hours right before school started at Robert E. Lee High School. This one happened to be caught on tape, but students say it's one of many fights to break out here in the last couple of weeks.

This is how school started Thursday morning for students who attend Lee High:

"Punches were flying … students screaming … and school papers thrown everywhere," said 18-year-old Frankey Archer, who got caught up in the melee while trying to get to class.

"All you see is the officers. They start Macing people," Archer said.

In March, Action News reported on a popular Instagram page that posted fights from students at First Coast High School. The video we found on Facebook of the Lee High School fight has already been viewed more than 1,900 times.

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You could see an officer try to break up the fight in the video, but other fights begin to break out around him. Some students are separated, but that doesn't stop them from swinging.

Archer said she heard people yelling out gang names before the first punches were thrown.

"When they were yelling out gang names, they were yelling profanity towards them basically like the f-word and everything like that," Archer said.

Students tell Action News it's not the first time this has happened.

"It's a common occurrence among high schools. It happens here, Raines, Ribault, it happens," said student Mark Joiner. 

But others are worried.

"If they could stop that, then these fights won't be affecting our school," Archer said.

According to Duval County Public Schools, no one was arrested, but the students involved in the fight are being disciplined by the school.

That's part of the problem for some parents, who say the punishment should be harsher. It's unclear what started the fight inside Lee High. Regardless, parents said security needs to step up.

Saundra Jones' daughter told her there was a fight at school on Thursday, but she had no idea how violent it was until Action News showed her the video.

"My daughter walked through the Mace after the fight and came back with a sore throat and her eyes runny," Jones said.

Jones says this most recent fight is just one of many her daughter has told her about.

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"Three weeks ago, her face was stepped on. She just got caught up into the crowd and got pulled down to the floor," Jones said.

A school spokesperson said there's one school resource officer stationed at Lee, but some parents want to see more.

"More than one cop on campus, that would work and it would make me feel better as a parent," said Ms. Jackson, a parent who did not want to give her first name.

According to the student code of conduct, fighting could get a student a maximum of five days in-school suspension. On the fourth time, the student could face up to 10 days in out-of-school suspension. Action News asked what kind of discipline the students in the video are facing, but a school spokesperson says by law they can't provide that information. 

In May, a gang prevention officer told parents and Action News that students at four local schools were involved in a turf war, including Raines, Ribault and Lee high schools and Matthew Gilbert Middle. While the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office and DCPS officially denied gang activity in schools, local gang interventionists say the problem is even worse.

"Are these four the only four schools having problems? All schools are having problems," said gang interventionist Ivan Brown.

Brown and Gregory La'Seer say recent efforts by police and the school district to curb gang activity are working, They are youth mentors who we met in a neighborhood not far from Lee High School, where gangs, they say, are common.

"Should students be scared to go to school? No!" Brown said.

Both say parents must also communicate with kids to help keep violent fights like this one from ever starting.

"When you see your kid upset, stop them," La'Seer said.

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