ORIGINAL REPORT, 7:18 PM WEDNESDAY: Multiple Chief Sealth International High School parents forwarded us this letter emailed tonight by CSIHS principal Aida Fraser-Hammer:

Dear Chief Sealth Families,

I would like to let you know of an incident which occurred at school yesterday around lunch. It involved a small group of girls but was witnessed by many scholars and may cause them to feel unsafe at school. I want to share information regarding the incident in case your young people have questions.

The situation started out as a disagreement between scholars outside of the school and spilled into school resulting in a physical fight that eventually included several non-students. Because of the escalating confrontation,. the Seattle Police Department (SPD) and medics were called, and families notified. One student was hurt badly enough to necessitate on-site medical attention.. One scholar was arrested and the student has been disciplined consistent with district procedures.

Please be assured that the safety and security of our scholars is a top priority at Chief Sealth International High School. This incident, although infrequent, emphasizes the need of good communication between school and home. Our staff continues to discuss personal safety and conflict resolution strategies as well as district rules and state laws with our scholars.

Most importantly, I wanted to let families know about these conversations and ask families to help all our students understand the importance of sharing critical safety information immediately with adults at school. The more we know, the better we can work to address it appropriately and proactively.

Thank you for your continued support.

ADDED THURSDAY, 1:30 PM: We requested and obtained the police-report narrative from SPD. Here’s what police wrote:

Ün 03-12-2019 at about 1127 hours I was working uniformed patrol within the City of Seattle as 2-Frank-01. I was dispatched to 2600 SW Thistle St (Chief Sealth High School) to investigate an assault.

The remarks on the call stated, “ADMIN REQ SPD FOR BROKEN UP PHYS FIGHT BETWEEN 2 STUDENTS AND TWO PARENTS, ALL PARTIES SEPARATED. MEDICS DECLINED, NO WPNS.” Upon arrival, I spoke with School Resource Officer Vargas, Jose A (#8457) who stated that an assault had occurred inside of the school. During the assault, (victim) was struck in the head with a wrench. (Suspect) was identified as the suspect who struck (victim) with a wrench. (Victim) was being attended to by SFD Engine 11. SFD’s initial assessment of (victim) revealed a laceration about 1 inch in length above her right eyebrow. This laceration would require stitches. There was swelling and bruising to the side of as head. He made complaints of pain to her head and reported feeling dizzy.

(Redacted) stated the following: There was supposed to be a mutual fight between her and (redacted). However, a physical fight began between her and another student named (redacted) occurred in the school hallway.

(Redacted) stated that she hit (redacted) first who then hit her back. As the two were fighting, (redacted) was struck in the head several times from someone behind her. She identified the individual who struck her in the head as (redacted). (Victim) was transported to HMC.

Officer Eby (#8498) took photos of injuries. He noted that the wounds on the side of (victim’s) head were actively bleeding. The photos were uploaded to DEMS.

Officer Vargas viewed cell phone footage of the assault. He stated the following: In the cell phone video, he witnessed (redacted) physically fighting with a student. (Redacted) appears in the video and is standing behind (redacted) … (Redacted) is seen clutching a wrench in her hand and approaches from behind. (Redacted) strikes (redacted) in head with the wrench in 3 consecutive strikes.

I spoke with (redacted) who stated the following: She has had rising tension with (redacted) which was leading up to a physical altercation over the past several weeks. She believed that (redacted) was going to attack her so she began carrying a wrench on her person as protection. (Redacted) stated that she used a wrench to strike in several times. The wrench was in her bag with her other personal belongings. She does not know where or who has her bag.

(Redacted) was placed into custody and read her Miranda Rights with the additional Juvenile Warning at 1206 hours. She was arrested for Assault in the Second Degree (RCW 9A.36.021).

The redactions – where police block out names before releasing a report – make it difficult to tell whether more than two people were quoted, aside from the very start, where suspect and victim (the injured girl) are clearly labeled. SPD spokesperson Det. Mark Jamieson adds, in response to our request for information: “The victim is a 14-year-old girl, the suspect is a 15-year-old girl. Suspect was arrested and booked into YSC for felony assault. Precinct detectives are doing the follow-up.” (YSC is the juvenile-detention center.)