While fights are not an uncommon occurrence on most schoolyard playgrounds, a recent incident resulted in the death of one fifth-grade student. As reported by CNN , a South Carolina public school student passed away yesterday after she was injured in a fight that broke out in her classroom.
Raniya Wright, 10, passed away on Wednesday, March 27, a couple of days after a fight broke out at Forest Hills Elementary School in Walterboro, South Carolina.
“Weapons were not involved in this incident,” said the Colleton County Sheriff’s Office via statement in regards to Raniya’s death.
The sheriff’s office released a few details about the fight, which took place on Monday. The incident involved two fifth-grade students. While specific information as to what prompted the classroom fight has not come to light, it seems that paramedics were called to Forest Hills Elementary School, where they found Raniya at the nurse’s station, unconscious from the injuries she sustained during the fight. Shortly after, the child was airlifted to the Medical University of South Carolina, located in Charleston. A specific cause of death has not been determined, and an autopsy is scheduled for Friday, March 29.
At the time of this writing, no one has been charged or arrested in connection to Raniya’s passing.
The Colleton County School District released a separate statement regarding the death.
“Raniya was a wonderful student. She loved to write, spend time with her friends, play basketball, and loved being a big sister. She was actively involved in her church as a junior usher,” the statement read. “She will be missed greatly by her family, friends, and the entire school community.”
#BREAKING : A Walterboro 5th-grader severely injured in classroom fight Monday died Wednesday morning, family confirms. RaNiya Wright had been unresponsive and in critical condition at MUSC, family says. #chsnews pic.twitter.com/zatOAx98PI
— ABC News 4 (@ABCNews4) March 27, 2019
As reported by Live 5 News , the Colleton County School Board has already scheduled a meeting, set to take place later today at 1 p.m. ET, to discuss the incident that led to Raniya’s death. The agenda for the meeting shows details that the meeting will cover a “briefing and discussion of Forest Hills Elementary School student incident.”
As Live 5 News notes, while students and parents were informed of the incident on Wednesday via a letter that students were instructed to take home, no phone calls or emails were sent out to parents to notify them of Monday’s incident.
The school district also released a statement regarding the untimely loss of Raniya.
“Our entire school district is saddened by this event,” the district said. “It is very difficult to experience the death of a young person.”
