School Bus Fight Video Results in Two Arrests

Two Mitchell High School students were arrested recently after a video of one of them allegedly beating another student popped up online.

During a ride on a school bus Friday afternoon, a 17-year-old girl allegedly got up from her seat on the bus and then started striking Chase Cristia, a 16-year-old girl from Odessa, according to a Pasco County Sheriff’s Office arrest report.

The 17-year-old then grabbed the younger girl by the back of the neck and punched her at least 10 times, said Doug Tobin, spokesman for the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office.

Chase never struck back but tried to cover herself with her arms, he said. 

Another girl, 16, recorded video of the incident, deputies say. The also allege she had been conspiring with the girl who hit Chase. Throughout the day, she had told the attacker that the victim “was talking crap,” according to the arrest report.

The girl accused of throwing the punches said she hadn’t intended to beat up the victim, but she became so mad at what the girl who shot the video was saying that she “lost control.”

The video wound up on Facebook and elsewhere on the internet.

The girl accused of throwing the punches and the girl who recorded the attack were arrested Tuesday. 

The girl accused of throwing punches was charged with battery. The girl who allegedly shot the video was charged with being a principal in the first degree. The charges are misdemeanors.

Deputies are not releasing the names of the girls. The victim's mother was the one to alert deputies to the attack. Chase told Tampabay.com in an interview, "People need to understand that it wasn't my fault," she said. "I did nothing wrong."

All the girls in the incident are sophomores at Mitchell High School.

Sheriff Chris Nocco wanted to send a clear message in this case.

“You commit a battery on someone, you’re going to be arrested,” he said.