Police: Beating incident in school bathroom was gang initiation

A student at Fayette County High School was arrested today for participating in a “beatdown” gang initiation in a school bathroom Nov. 1, police said.

Andre Scott, 17, of Vickery Lane was charged with four felonies relating to gang activity and one misdemeanor count of disrupting a public school, police said. Fayetteville Police Chief Steve Heaton said Scott is apparently a leader of the gang called GBD, which includes members of the nationally-based gangs the bloods and the crips.

Although this is the first gang-related arrest in Fayetteville, there have been some signs of gang activity in the city such as graffiti tags, Heaton said. At this point, the incident is considered isolated in nature as there have been no other incidents of gang violence reported, Heaton said.

Police are also looking at eight other students who may or may not be charged in connection with the incident, Heaton said.

Police have been working with school officials, local law enforcement and the district attorney’s office on combating gang-related problems, Heaton noted.

The incident, initially reported as a fight, was investigated by the FCHS school resource officer and also the police department’s juvenile detective.

The charges filed against Scott include:
- Associating with a street gang;
- Being part of an effort to increase his status or position in a street gang;
- Coercing or encouraging others to be part of a street gang; and
- Being a supervisor or organizer of a street gang.