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Police have released new details about their investigation into an assault at Dublin High School last Friday, saying a confrontation with a parent precipitated an attack in which four teenagers beat up a student in the boys’ locker room.
The announcement from Dublin Police Services on Tuesday afternoon corroborates some details shared publicly by the school principal Maureen Byrne and contradicts others, including Byrne’s initial assertion that all five assailants were adults.
“It is not believed this was a random incident and school resource officers continue to interview witnesses and collect video evidence to determine a motive and how the victim, suspect, and Dublin High School parent know each other,” Dublin police Lt. Kevin Monaghan said in the press release.
According to Monaghan, police officers responded to Dublin High at about 3:30 p.m. Friday (Aug. 23) after receiving a call about a fight on campus after school. As police arrived, a 15-year-old boy was being transported to an area hospital for face and head injuries deemed non-life-threatening. The student was treated and released shortly thereafter.
The ensuing investigation revealed the teen boy was confronted by a Dublin High parent and then retreated to the locker room but was followed by the parent and four unidentified people, according to Monaghan.
“The four unknown subjects, who were wearing hoodies, reportedly assaulted the victim until the fight broke up, at which time, they fled the area,” the lieutenant said. “The four subjects have not been identified; however, they have been described as being approximately 16 to 19 years of age.”
Byrne said in an email to the school community that football players and head coach Napoleon Kaufman helped stop the altercation.
The principal also stated that much of what occurred before and after the attack was captured on video, and that Dublin police had already identified some of those involved — a point which is now unclear after Monaghan’s case update. Byrne added that the incident would lead to campus safety changes.
“We are outraged that this happened on our campus. School must be a place where all feel safe and supportive,” Byrne said in her email. “We are working with the police to address this to the full extent of the law.”
“We will make sure to have continued adult presence in the locker room. Until further notice, the hallways facing the parking lot will stay locked and students will need to enter via the doors facing the practice field,” she added.
