15-year-old student arrested after viral locker room assault

GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — A Gwinnett County student was outed for being an alleged bully after a video showing her punching another student went viral.

Archer High School students who spoke with Channel 2’s Sophia Choi said the teen probably wanted attention.

Students leaving the Lawrenceville high school Monday told Choi they knew all about the viral video showing the 15-year-old punching a 14-year-old in the locker room.

“The girl who was sitting down, she didn’t do anything wrong, and obviously, she didn’t want to fight,” student Mary Cook said.

“I think it was someone with an unreasonable temper, just someone blowing off steam, looking for attention,” student Garrett Smith said.

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Choi showed the video to Gwinnett County resident Andres Garcia, who admitted to being a bully as a kid.

“If there was more adults or more education, then maybe things like that would not happen,” Garcia said.

The principal of Archer High School put out a statement on the school’s website, saying in part:

“Like you, we believe that this type of behavior is not acceptable and I want to reassure you that we already have taken swift and appropriate action.”

Choi learned on Monday that the student was arrested and charged with battery.

"She needs to really take a look at who she is. She needs to look at who she is because a lot of times bullies are lashing out,” Garcia said.

“I think the girl bullied her and she did it for no reason. There was a lot of people in the locker room and she just did it to look cool or something,” Cook said.

The video of the fight went viral after a California woman posted it on Twitter and gave the name the student who threw the punch. The post was retweeted more than 90,000 times.

Choi tried to contact the woman, but she has not heard back.

School leaders would not say what discipline they took with the student, citing privacy issues.

They did say that a battery charge typically leads to a suspension for up to 10 days.

Cox Media Group