Alberta teen hospitalized after fight involving dozens of students

A fight involving up to 60 high school students in Fort McMurray, Alta.,left a 14-year-old boy barely responsive witha shattered jaw bone, say RCMP.

RCMP responded to a callshortly before 4 p.m. Wednesday where they found the injuredteen.

He was airlifted to an Edmonton-area hospital where he remains, said police.

Early Friday morning, investigatorsarrestedand charged a 16-year-old boy withaggravated assault and breach of conditions. He is currently in custody awaiting a hearing.

The fightoccurredacross the street fromFather Patrick Mercredi High School where the injured teen, a Grade 9 student, went to school.

Natasha MacArthur-Poole saidthe fight was nothing more than a fightbetween one of her students and a student from another school.

"This has actually been a very small thing that has happened," she said."We haven't sent a message home because it has been a small incident and we were waiting for the police investigation to be concluded before we can really talk about it at the school level."

MacArthur-Poole said most of the students were drawn to the scene as observers and were not part of the fight.

RCMP said their early investigation indicates the fight stems from incidents of bullying and peer pressure between the teens who hadprevious fights.

"The bottom line is that violence often results in criminal acts, and students found breaking the law will be charged accordingly," said school resource officer Const. Jana Jacobs.