Amy Joyner-Francis went into the bathroom of Delaware’s Howard High School of Technology on Thursday morning of April 21st, only to come out on a stretcher. She was airlifted to the hospital, and would later be pronounced dead due to a head injury.

Authorities have released little information on what happened inside the bathroom with Amy and two other girls. However, a city official told CNN that “there was an altercation between two people over a boy, and [his] understanding is that additional individuals joined in against [Amy].” All girls will be later charged with murder and will wait for a trial for sentencing. Charges are expected, but on May 2nd, according to CBS News, all charges were dropped. 

According to an eyewitness that was in a bathroom stall while the attack happened, the fight broke out with the deceased and one other girl arguing over a boy, but multiple girls decide to jump in. Amy was assaulted and beaten by a group of girls. They ended up hitting her head on a sink; the injury later took her life.  

Amy was known as a quiet, nonviolent girl that always worked hard in class and always supported her friends. She never promoted violence and the fight that ended her life wasn’t her intention.

According to Morning Ledger, her attackers didn’t have any positive feedback on her death and had this to say on April 29th: “F*** This Retarted Nose Having A** B*****, She Ugly. We Made Sure We Killed That B****! #ripamy B***** .”

On April 21, 2016, the National Center for Education Statistics released its annual “Indicators of School Crime and Safety” report in which it indicated that during the 2010-11 school year , there were 31 violent deaths (including homicides and suicides) involving students, staff members, and others on school campuses. That’s a decrease from a nearly 20-year high of 63 violent deaths during the 2006-07 school year. However, nonfatal incidents at school, such as theft and assault, appear to be on the rise after several years of steady decline. In 2012, students between the ages of 12 and 18 experienced more than 1.3 million nonfatal assaults.

The information provided by the National Center for Education Statistics indicates that violence is inevitable and precaution needs to be present in order to prevent future accidental homicides. School fights never occur in HMSA, but it’s important for students to know even the smallest altercations can get out of hand.