Man, 33, 'started a fight at a kindergarten graduation that involved 20 people and locked down the school'

[Teh One Who Knocks]

The Associated Press and The Daily Mail


A 33-year-old man has been accused of throwing the punch which sparked a 20-strong brawl during a kindergarten graduation celebration.

Raymond Walker allegedly hit another man in the cafeteria of Cincinnati's Mt Healthy North Elementary School, as newly graduated five-year-olds snacked on punch and cookies on Monday morning.

The domestic dispute allegedly triggered a violent melee which shut down the school and ruined the special day of the little children.



Amid the panic, Mt. Healthy Schools Superintendent Lori Handler ordered a lockdown to ensure no one else wandered into the fight scene.

Some of the 150 newly graduated students and their families were in the cafeteria when the fight broke out.

'People never cease to amaze me,' Handler told WCPO. 'It was a beautiful ceremony, with grandparents, parents, the five-year-olds ... then out of the blue, the man hit another man in the face. I was absolutely shocked.'

Footage shows people pushing and shoving near the cafeteria doors, and parents trying to leave with their children.

'It was horrible,' parent Kim Calai told WCPO, noting that a parent holding a newborn was caught up in the brawl.

'I'm standing there, and all of a sudden, this rush of people throwing punches is coming at me ... To have something like that happen at a graduation is pretty pathetic.'

Six police cruisers arrived at the scene and officers restored order. Authorities said no one was injured.

'The assault did induce panic during the assembly, causing several in attendance to be pushed,' police stated in their report.

Police are now searching for Raymond Walker, the suspect, who fled the scene. He faces charges of assault and inducing panic.

A telephone message left Tuesday at Walker's home was not immediately returned.

'We're going to prosecute to the fullest extent possible,' school superintendent Lori Handler said.

'We are sending a strong message that you cannot act that way around five-year-old children.'

[Teh One Who Knocks]

Kindergarten graduation

[deebakes]

i thought all kids without trisomies end up automatically going into 1st grade

[Muddy]

Jungle Boogie