2 students arrested after fight at Anchorage middle school

Two students are facing assault charges stemming from a fight at Clark Middle School last week, Anchorage School District officials said.

The fight involved at least three Clark students, including the apparent victim, authorities say.

Two students can be seen punching another student in the school gym in videos of the incident provided by a family member of the girl being assaulted. A school resource officer from the Anchorage Police Department responded to the school on the afternoon of March 26, but the students suspected of assault had fled by the time the officer arrived, according to police spokeswoman Renee Oistad.

The girl who was assaulted received medical treatment, Oistad said. In an interview this week, the girl’s mother said she brought her to the hospital for evaluation. She has significant bruising to her head and body, her mother said. The girl is recovering at home but plans to return to school next week, her mother said.

[Fight at Anchorage middle school led to attack on officer, police say]

The officer identified the students suspected to be involved in the assault and interviewed them the next morning, Oistad said. The students had been charged with assault as of Monday, district spokesman Corey Allen Young said this week.

In an email to families on Friday, Clark Middle School Principal Bennetta Orchitt encouraged students to “report anything that seems suspicious and/or dangerous to a trusted adult.”

The investigation into the assault is ongoing, police and the school district said.