Mother of a student gets into an argument with other students after being admitted, witnesses report

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana (WAFB/Gray News) – The mother of a student got into a fight with other students after she was let into the school through a side door, according to witnesses at the school.

The alleged brawl occurred around 7 a.m. on August 22 on the IDEA Bridge in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, while students were waiting for classes to begin.

Baton Rouge police responded to the incident but said the investigation is ongoing and charges are pending.

Corporal Saundra Watts confirmed that a mother was on campus and was let in through the door near the school's gymnasium. Watts confirmed that the mother was involved in the fight.

Student Jah'n'que Brown said she defended herself against another student, his sister and his mother.

“She threatens them and says, 'Oh, let's go out and fight, come on, we're going to fight,' stuff like that. So, you know, she just threatens them and then everything goes out of control. And I get hit,” Jah'n'que said.

Jah'n'que's mother, Yakisha Brown, said she was concerned about her children's safety at school.

“A lot of people's lives were at stake and I think that's unfair, that's just not right,” Brown said.

WAFB reached out to IDEA Public Schools to ask what safety measures are in place and whether security guards or staff are in charge of supervision.

“IDEA Bridge is aware of an incident on our campus. We received reports that a physical altercation occurred with a parent. Appropriate personnel were on site to respond to the incident. On-duty staff and administrators were able to defuse the situation and remove the parent from campus. All students and staff are safe. The campus has been cooperating with local law enforcement in the investigation,” said Rebecca Suarez, Director of Communications.

Jah'n'que said there was no one in the room who could have prevented the incident.

“Nobody was there. No teachers, no administration. We were in the gym at the time, and they were supposed to be in the gym. They were supposed to be watching us all. They were supposed to come into the gym, and they were supposed to be there before we even got there,” Jah'n'que said. “We were there for about five minutes. I'm not even going to lie, the students were trying to stop it, yes, but there was no administration there or anything.”

On the IDEA Publis Schools website, the district ensures that all campuses are closed, meaning visitors can only enter through the main entrance.

Brown said this should never have happened and she hopes for drastic changes in IDEA Bridge's security protocol.

“When my child goes to school, I feel like their life is in their hands. So it's very, very concerning to me that nobody was there the whole time this was happening,” Brown said. “We can't leave any room for error. The wolves could have done it, but they didn't – they don't exist today because of what's going on in the world right now.”

Baton Rouge police told WAFB the case is still under investigation and they could not provide further details.

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