CORAL SPRINGS — A student was hospitalized after a violent beating in a parking lot near Marjory Stoneman Douglas High just as school was getting out on Tuesday, according to police and videos circulating on social media.
Video footage shared on Facebook and X shows a boy beaten by multiple other kids before he is thrown to the concrete head first. Then he becomes still, possibly unconscious.
Coral Springs Police responded to a “report of a fight” near the parking lot at North Community Park about 3 p.m., the department said on X. Fire Rescue took one student to the hospital with “non life-threatening injuries.”
Police did not say how many people were involved or if all were students at the school.
Phone video recordings show a large group of kids gathered in the parking lot as a multiple boys appear to fight with another boy before one of them picks him up and throws him onto the ground.
Witnesses told police that the boy was bleeding from his head after he was “flipped onto the concrete,” his head slammed, according to dispatchers and officers heard over archived radio transmissions from the day of the incident.
The boy then lies there, still, apparently unconscious, the video shows, as the large group of kids who were watching and filming the altercation begin to scream and scatter. A few stay with the boy to see if he is okay while others yell “Oh my god” and “check if he’s breathing.”
The boy then appears to be conscious, according to the video, moving his head slightly as a man comes over to help him and tells him not to move. Dispatchers and officers said over radio that the victim was “alert and conscious.”
Coral Springs Fire Department paramedics responded at 3:08 p.m. but had to wait for police to clear the scene, according to Deputy Chief Mike Moser. They made contact with the boy at 3:14 p.m. and transported him to the hospital soon after.
When police tried to find out who the suspects were, witnesses said they couldn’t tell who was actually involved or who was just watching, according to police officers heard over archived radio. Some said that a large group of boys had fled north.
In an email to parents, Principal Michelle Keffort described the beating as “a disturbing incident that took place off-campus.”
“Several students were involved in a physical altercation and one student was injured,” she wrote. “While this park is not a school or district-operated property, the safety of our students is always our priority, and we are working with law enforcement to help identify those involved. Due to the open investigation, I am not able to provide additional details, but I want to assure you this situation is being taken seriously. Please do remind your students to say something if they see something. As always, thank you for your support.”
The violent incident sparked outrage on social media among Broward parents, some of whom have children at Stoneman Douglas, and raised questions about the parking lot where the incident took place, which school officials described as off-campus, but which parents say is used by many students there.
The city offers Stoneman Douglas students special parking permits, according to its website; the Broward School district website also directs students to apply for the permit.
“I’m in disbelief right now! This is disgusting!” one parent wrote on Facebook, saying that her daughter walks the same route after school.
Edward Rodriguez, whose two sons attend Stoneman Douglas, said one of them parks in the lot. His youngest son showed him the video, which was circulating on Snapchat, Tuesday night. Soon after, he posted a video on Facebook about it.
“I think that was just the last straw,” he told the Sun Sentinel Wednesday. “When you see something like that, that could’ve actually killed the kid, if not permanent brain damage.”
Rodriguez said that he has monitored TikTok and Instagram pages where students share videos of fights while those involved seek “clout.” Both of his children were attacked themselves in middle school, he said.
He wishes more was done to deter fights and discipline students afterwards.
“You’d think that Douglas, the amount of security that they have, you’d think these kind of incidents wouldn’t happen or they’d be less likely,” Rodriguez said.
School resource officers from nearby Country Hills and Eagle Ridge elementary schools are stationed at the park between 2:40 p.m. and 3 p.m. for Stoneman Douglas dismissal, according to Lynne Martzall, a spokesperson for the city of Coral Springs.
It remains unclear what led to the altercation. The video footage only shows the moment the boy is thrown to the ground. The Broward School District did not answer questions over email, referring reporters to Keffort’s statement. A spokesperson for Coral Springs Police declined to provide details beyond what was in the initial release, but said detectives are “working diligently at it.”
“Detectives are conducting a full investigation into this matter,” the release said.
Anyone with information should contact Det. Kaban at .
