Four teens were arrested in a situation police say was “out of control” last week when employees of a Marathon gas station were attacked with knives and an American flag pole. Violence broke out amid a group of people gathered at a bus stop in front of the gas station on Gratiot south of Metro Parkway Oct. 23, leaving two victims injured.
The arrested parties are all students at Clintondale Continuing Education Center, a vocational training school for residents in the tri-county area who have not received a high school diploma. The suspects live in Detroit and come to the school via the SMART bus system. While police said incidents involving students of the school have never reached the magnitude they did last week, safety has become a concern of both the school’s administration and the Police Department.
“Overall, the program is a huge success,” said Superintendent George Sassin of the education center, “but, unfortunately, you get a few students who chose not to follow the rules and guidelines of our school district.”
The four Detroit teens arrested are 17 and 19 years old, three of whom are being charged with ethnic intimidation. All of them are facing some form of assault charge.
It’s a shame that these few kids are ruining the reputation of the school and creating a fearful atmosphere both in the school and the community.
The victim suffered a 2-inch gash on his lip as a result. Another employee was punched and had a cut on his cheek. Also, it seems, the arrested girls were threatening to cut the throat of some of the employees. Luckily, nobody was killed, and witnesses confirmed the incidence so that the offenders have been arrested.
I think it would have been wiser for the employees to stay in the store and cal either the owner of the shop or law enforcement.
I hope the citizens in the tri-county area don’t hold this against the school. I hope the increased security at the school keeps the other students safe.
What do you think?
Friday, November 10th 2006 at 7:05 pm
Increased security is important, but it only half the solution. Dysfunctional schools also need to train their staff, then the students, in the core fundamentals of empathy and respect for their fellow human beings. You can only control violence so much through laws and restrictions. It is important that we understand bullying and intimidation as the cowardly, small thing it really is, and stop glorifying and tolerating it. When that happens, we’ll see the improvement we desperately need.