'It just made me sad. It made me want to cry': Parents react to viral video of violence at Medway H.S.

Arva, Ont. -

Medway High School in Arva, Ont. is dealing with a rash of violent incidents this week that have taken on a life of their own on social media.

“My first reaction was sick to my stomach feeling and just really sad,” says concerned parent Jaime Burnham.

Principal of Medway, Greg Howard, says there were several incidents that occurred within the span of about two days that involved physical altercations between students off of school property, and a threat to the school Tuesday evening.

“The threat that came in to the school was investigated that night. The OPP investigated it. We let the police know as soon as we knew about it, and then the police attended the school all day Wednesday to help us with the investigation.”

Several videos were shared online of the physical altercations, depicting fights between students, and in one case a disturbing image of a student being kicked in the head while lying on the ground.

This, according to the school, led to many rumours that quickly spread online.

“So that was one of the biggest hurdles for us is dealing with the social media piece of it. The rumour mill that was started in the last couple of days just spiralled out of control in the sense that somebody put something on social media, the students responded, creates panic and anxiety which then feeds into the rumour mill.”

Howard adds they worked with the OPP to investigate all of the rumours and allegations and then were able to communicate a clear understanding of the events to parents in a letter that was sent home on Wednesday.

“So we've been lucky and fortunate to be able to work alongside with the OPP on this, working through the social media piece, but there's no question that it is a huge piece of the puzzle.”

Middlesex County OPP say there are ongoing investigations into two incidents at the school, one around 2 p.m. on Nov. 9 just off school property and another around 8:20 a.m. on Nov. 10.

Officers responded to both incidents in which there were altercations and say further updates will be provided when available.

A letter that was sent home eased many fears for parent.

“I think it was a nice reassurance because there was so there was a lot of confusion happening,” says Burnham. “And there was a lot of panic happening with the students that were at school. I know a lot of parents kept their kids home after the Tuesday incident.”

Howard says they plan to use this experience to open a dialogue with students about how social media is used.

“Next week we're going to be undertaking an opportunity to engage our students in discussion about the appropriate use of social media in the sense that we want to engage our kids in a conversation about -- What are the consequences of posting videos online of altercations? What are the consequences of posting rumours and conjecture?“

The letter to parents also included a link to the Medway Cares anonymous reporting feature if parents, guardians or students have any information or concerns.

Letter to parents at Medway High School.