H-F Principal Addresses Parents' Questions About Last Friday Night's Attacks After Football Game

About 70 parents attended the Parents Association’s first meeting of the year Wednesday night, many with questions about .

While the topic was not on the agenda, H-F Principal Dr. Ryan Pitcock discussed the situation and fielded questions for about 30 minutes.

 “As the H-F Parents Association, the purpose of this group is to keep parents informed so I’m going to go off the agenda,” said Pitcock, who was scheduled to talk about the opening of school and standardized test scores.

, but many still had questions. They wanted to know more details, how the attackers, who are reportedly H-F students, were going to be punished, and what the school was doing to ensure their children’s safety in the future.

When asked, Pitcock and Scott McAlister, assistant principal of the South building, expanded on the information in the letter and said there were five to seven attackers and a total of nine kids at the car parked on Braemar where the incident took place. Of the four victims, three students were treated at the scene and one was transported to a hospital, but released the same night.

He said while the school and Flossmoor police have been working together and all parties involved have been talked to, “what the school does has little to do with what the police do and vice versa. We are just sharing information.” The school will handle it according to its policies and the police will handle the criminal matter, he added.

When asked if the suspected attackers were currently in school, Pitcock said he could not answer that directly, but did say, “I think every kid walking in the hallways should feel safe now.”  

One mother, who said her son was involved in the incident, thanked the school for its efforts and its quick actions. “I’m pleased with what’s going on. I commend the school for how fast it acted that night and I’ve been kept informed about what’s been going on since then.” 

Many parents seemed to be searching for answers about why the attack happened and how it could have been prevented.

“I understand you are trying to find a reason why it happened, I wish I could give you one. It’s just a case of these kids being at the wrong place at the wrong time,” Pitcock said.

The attackers apparently were going to have words with another student, but that student left, Pitcock said.

“As a result, the attackers were amped up and they came across this car and these kids," Pitcock said. "I think it was as random an act of violence as you can come by.”

Pitcock, who is in his fourth year as principal at H-F and was at Crown Point High School for seven years prior, said “it was the most aggressive attack I’ve ever seen.”

He assured parents that “students who act like criminals have no place at . They will be (dealt) with quickly and responsibly. This is not going to be dismissed, not taken lightly.”

“Will we know the outcome?” one parent asked.

“You may know, but it will never come from me,” said Pitcock, who explained that laws and policies do not allow him to release that information.

CHANGES INSTITUTED

When asked what is being done to help ensure this type of thing doesn’t happen again, Pitcock said changes in security, parking, and ticket sales are being instituted immediately.

“We’re going to cap the home audience and go back to pre-selling tickets,” he said. “If there are still tickets available, we will sell them at the game, but the only way to guarantee a ticket now is to purchase them ahead of time.”

Last Friday’s game had a much larger crowd than expected, about 2,600 in the home bleachers, he said, adding that 2,400 is generally the cap.

“We will have plenty of parking on campus,” Pitcock said.

The practice field to the north of North Building and field behind the stadium will be opened for parking like they are for graduation, he said.

And while Pitcock feels very good about the security the school has in place, “it’s not saying H-F can’t do more. We want our kids to feel safe while they’re here,” Pitcock said.

Effective immediately, additional security personnel will be stationed everywhere kids are getting picked up from the games including the ice arena, in front of the school, the main athletic entrance and in the back of the school, he said.

“We’re dealing with a lot of emotions now. We need to honor the emotions, take it on, talk about it and deal with the issue. The best medicine will be to focus on the good things and Friday to have the same type of event we’ve been having for the last three years I’ve been here,” Pitcock said.

After the meeting, parent Ron Radkay, who during the meeting voiced his frustration over lack of information from the school, said he now feels “very good about the clear position that the school board and the faculty are taking.”