‘Put Down the Phone’: Police Chief Urges Students to Report Fights After Schoolgirls Fall From Car Park
Commissioner Everton Jeffers says recording and sharing school fights can encourage others to do the same.
Police Commissioner Everton Jeffers is urging students to seek help when a fight breaks out, warning that recording and sharing the violence can encourage others to imitate it.
His comments, reported by Tahna Weston of the Antigua Observer, followed a fight between two schoolgirls on Tuesday, November 10, at the unfinished multi-level car park at the East Bus Station. A video circulated widely on social media shows the girls fighting before they fall over the edge of the structure into an overgrown area below.
Speaking to the Observer on Wednesday, Jeffers said he was troubled by how quickly young people reach for their phones when a confrontation unfolds. He recalled seeing similar footage from Barbados in which students pulled out their phones to record a fight.
“They need to recognize that when they do that, sometimes they encourage others to do the same thing,” Jeffers told the Observer. He also said the circulation of such footage can give a distorted impression of young people, the majority of whom he described as decent.
The commissioner urged students who hear that a fight is being planned to alert the authorities. Getting help early, he said, could prevent serious injury or save a life.
Jeffers also called on parents to pay closer attention to their children’s behaviour and urged adults to help identify young people who may need counselling. He said addressing youth violence requires families and the wider community to get involved alongside the police.
This story was first published by Antigua News on : antigua.news/2026/11/12/put-down-the-phone-police-chief-urges-students-to-report-fights-after-schoolgirls-fall-from-car-park. © 2026 Antigua News. Republication without permission is not allowed.
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