A graduating senior at a Tennessee high school launched his diploma at another student as he was being escorted out of the ceremony for allegedly showing gang signs, igniting an on-stage fight.
The caught-on-camera brawl between the two Hamilton High School graduates happened as their peers were being celebrated inside the Cannon Center in Memphis, Tenn. on Thursday night.
The incident, which stemmed from a prior incident with the two students, started when the agitator was seen throwing up gang signs toward another student, according to WREG.
A security guard caught the student’s hand gesture and promptly removed him from his seat.
As the unruly graduate was escorted off the stage, he chucked his graduation binder at his unsuspecting victim.
The security guard quickly grabbed the suspected thrower and pulled him off the stage. The student that was hit, jumped over three rows of seats and chased after his attacker.
Two other students joined the chaotic scene as several security guards rushed the stage to break up the brawl.
One of the students was pepper sprayed as the security attempted to detain the students.
The ceremony was disrupted for a few minutes before the commencement ceremony resumed.
“We are not going to stop our graduation. We are going to continue because this is the Wildcat way,” one speaker said through the sound system.
The fight didn’t sit well with several parents who called out the student’s behavior during the momentous occasion.
“How do you fight at a graduation? It’s a time for celebration so why is everybody fighting? Why are you angry?” Quita White, whose son graduated, told WREG.
All involved were given a Juvenile Summons or Misdemeanor Citation and released to their parents, the outlet reported.
One officer was injured during the scuffle.
“He has a big bruise on his left eye, they broke his glasses, the front of his foot looks like it is fractured,” the injured worker’s wife said.
The unidentified woman blamed the school principal for ruining other students’ special day.
“Knowing that this was the end of the school year, knowing that these kids were battling to get each other,” she said. “Now they were not in school. But they gave him a packet. “You guys can come and walk,” the furious woman said.
The victim’s wife doesn’t believe the two students should have been at the ceremony in the first place.
“Memphis has a huge problem, period,” White said, “It’s a real problem with youth.”
The remaining students, whose names were still not called, got their chance on stage after the fighting settled down and the suspects were detained.
