East Chapel Hill High School principal responds to fight that injured staff
At least two fights broke out at East Chapel Hill High School on Friday afternoon, injuring five staff members and briefly putting classrooms on “hold,” according to district emails sent to parents.
East Chapel Hill High Principal Jesse Casey emailed parents with an update later Friday, thanking students and staff “who remained calm and followed directions.”
“I’m grateful to report that everyone is okay,” Casey said. “Moving forward, we are implementing our established response protocols which includes working with the individuals involved and those who witnessed it.”
The school is taking “appropriate next steps,” including consequences for those involved in the fights, he said. No specific information is being released because of student privacy protections.
“Events like today are not typical at East, and on the rare occasions when they do occur, we take them seriously and act quickly,” he added.
Chapel Hill police responded and are investigating two fights, town spokesman Alex Carrasquillo said. The first fight, reported at 11:48 a.m. Friday, injured three adults, he said. The second fight at 1:52 p.m. injured two more adults.
The district confirmed that all five adults were staff members at the school. Carrasquillo said there is no reason to think weapons were involved.
It “was a difficult afternoon at school,” Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools spokesman Andy Jenks said in an email statement.
Jenks alerted parents to the incidents in two emails Friday. The first was sent at 2:40 p.m., when the school was placed on a “hold” that required students and staff to remain in their classroom or in other areas of the school where they were at the time.
The hold gave Chapel Hill police and emergency responders time to help school and district staff break up the fights and restore order, Jenks said.
“Some staff members were hurt today while attempting to resolve the student altercations,” he said. “While we’re unable to share specific details, we want to be sure you know that East’s counselors and support staff have already begun to reach out to students who may need support processing what they witnessed today.”
The fights between the students were unrelated, Jenks said. He did not say how many students were involved. He sent another email at 3:11 p.m. to tell parents that the hold had been lifted. School would be dismissed at 4 p.m. as usual, and the school’s principal may send additional messages, he said.
“At this time, the fights appear to be over, and we are focused on ensuring the safety and well-being of everyone on campus,” Jenks said in the email. “We will provide additional updates as soon as we are able. Please stay close to your phone and email.”
This story was originally published September 12, 2025 at 4:19 PM.
