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Twelve girls fought in a hallway at Southern Guilford High School Wednesday morning.

At about 8:30 a.m., two girls exchanged words on their way to class in the hallway near the gym, principal Jim Gibson said. The same two girls had gotten into a fight earlier this year, he said.

Friends of both girls became involved and the fight escalated, but was quickly broken up.

No weapons were involved and the girls were pushing and punching at each other, Gibson said. The fight was broken up and Guilford County Sheriff's deputies were called to transport those who are being charged. Arrest warrants state at least one person suffered a bloodied nose.

"It completely disrupted the entire school," Gibson said.

Through Wednesday evening, those charged included:

- Mesha Nicole Cook, 17, of 805 Pine Ridge Road, Greensboro

- Danielle Hicks, 16, of 2340 1-G Bellemeade St., High Point

- Shamika Marche Johnson, 17 of 901 Tipperary Drive, Greensboro

- Sierra Channel Palmer, 17, of 805 Pine Ridge Drive, Greensboro

- Erica Denise Waters, 16, of 3004 Boyle Ave., Greensboro

- Angela Nicole McKinney, 18, of 102 Meadowview Lane, Greensboro

Each was charged with one count each of misdemeanor riot and disorderly conduct.

McKinney was also charged with misdemeanor possession of a weapon on educational property for allegedly having a small pocket knife. Waters was also charged with possession of a controlled substance for 10 baggies of marijuna deputies found, according to warrants.

Each student was issued a $300 bond.

Eventually, all 12 will probably be charged, Gibson said, adding that most involved were over 16 and were arrested.

Gibson said all face suspension and several may receive long-term suspensions.

There were no major injuries. Most of the girls sustained minor scrapes and bruises.

Because there were so many students involved, it was hard to determine exactly what took place, Gibson said.

"It seems increasingly in schools if you have an altercation, it's no longer one person fighting the other," he said.

Gwen Gutierrez of Greensboro said her two daughters, 15-year-old Haley Rivenbark and 17-year-old Shamika Johnson, and niece, 13-year-old Raquel Rodriguez, were involved in the fight.

Gutierrez said she has had to visit the school four times this fall because of threats her children have received from other students.

"To be honest, I have no idea what's going on," Gutierrez said. "Right now, it's just a feud."

Gutierrez said her daughters and niece bear some responsibility for Wednesday's fight, but she also puts blame on administrators.

Gutierrez said she fears the fight could jeopardize Rodriguez's academic trip to Japan in the summer.

"I just can't understand why this school can't get a grip on what's going on," she said. "My bottom line is I'm moving out of the school district. I feel there needs to be more administrative people at the school to handle the students there."

Staff Writer Ryan Seals contributed to this report.

Contact Amy Dominello at 373-7091 or adominello@news-record.com

Contact Morgan Josey Glover at 373-7078 or mjosey@news-record.com